=INTRO A: COLLAPSING PEACE=

=CHAPTER 7B: RUSH INTO THE MINE=

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @limitbreakers))

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{SOON, AT SANDA LABS…}

[Nico lets the magnetic field shift and he sets Mic down with a slight THUD.]

Cryo: EARTH BROOOOOOOOOOO

[There is a collective of both Xelbots and RAs that gather around Mic, including the humans present.]

White: Oh thank the Lord you are safe--son--

Mic: -Noodle Daaad- -w-

Snow: <'3

Snow: Mister Mic! You’re okay again~

Snow: I made you Rocky Road!

[RRRRRR.]

[...Was that another earthquake--]

Mic: OwO

[....Oh, no. That was Mic's stomach.]

Mic: -Suddenly aware of hunger, mmmmm-

Beck: --Oh--

Beck: (Right, he's probably been down there all this time...)

Snow: It’s okay! Pyro made lots of food.

Brand: Both of him, I would think so.

Snow: For you and Shadesis when she hears you’re better! We think it will help her get better too! : D

Mic: .....

Mic: —????

Mic: -Wait, what happened to Snipesis—-

Skull: She ran into a wall. Very hard.

Mic: !!!!

Mic: O~O

Mic: -ATTEMPTS TO MOOOOOVE-

[WHUMP]

Mic: -Awwww--

Mikhail: No, Mic. Even if you could move, your mobility rig is disabled for right now. You need rest. Proper rest.

[Odd. HE’S sure strangely grim for the celebration.]

Mikhail: One extra mobile party is more than enough for now. : | Rest. I’m sure Felix will be here soon… Piers just contacted and said he was stirring.

Mic: !!

Beck: Felix is waking up?!

Beck: -YAAAAAY-

Mikhail: Yes… and I think I know why. But more on that later…

White: Yes. We'll talk properly once things have settled down.

White: Nico, please get Mic to the Repair Bay. Call, transfer the assimilation data to me, please.

Call: Right away, Professor.

Nico: Yes sir.

White: Soi, can you please tend to those that need repairs?

Sanda: Already on it, Will.

White: Beck? You need rest too.

Beck: Yeah, I know...

Mikhail: …I’m going to make some coffee. And then I need to get back to Siam. There’s some very important work I need to be doing, apologies…. Shadow, make sure you isolate yourself.

Shadow: … Acknowledged, Doctor.

[Shadow was giving off a dark reading of dread.]

Brand: ......

<DWN-024 to MNN-007>: > …

<DWN-024 to MNN-007>: > . . .

<DWN-024 to MNN-007>: > . . .   . . .   . . .

[No words needed to be said….]

——————————————————

[While Mikhail went to rejoin Siam and Gemini in pursuit of the “final piece of the puzzle,” the rest of the Rebel Angels (sans Snow and Shadow) held a meeting.

There wasn’t so much anything said as there was data exchanged.]

((Pic here of Shaaaaaade))

[They all still quite clearly remembered the nightmares that had plagued them for what felt like months now, even if it had only been days within time.]

———————

“Nowhere left to run, anymore.”

[Panic. Sheer panic. Terror. Trapped.]

“Let’s play a little game, shall we? S’ called…”

[A loud click noise.]

“‘Which one of you Wily scrapheaps takes the longest t’ die?’”

———————

[Nico scowled and looked away, his field fluctuating sullenly.

He didn’t like being left in charge, and certainly not under circumstances in situations like this.

They had all hoped that they could find either Shade or Cardinal before time ran out, but now it was clearly too late. With all the seven other wayward siblings rescued, the fact they still had no sign of the sniper’s tracks meant they were already out of time.

It would take more than a miracle for things to continue in a way that allowed everyone to come back in one piece.

They could only hope that their brother could find the last link they were looking for…]

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=CHAPTER 2C: BEYOND THE WATERY VORTEX=

~AO v1.0~

(Courtesy of @limitbreakers)

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{SANDA LABS, LATER....}

[Cryo was met with welcoming arms and tears of relief, both from her father and her Uncle Sanda. A good while had passed before Will was reminded by his best friend that he couldn't repair his daughter while he was constantly hugging her--]

[And so, just as before, everyone got to work. Sanda was left to repair Cryo while Will went to work analyzing the virus sample from her.]

[...This time, however, Pyro took it upon himself to explain what the situation was.]

[It wasn't very long before...]

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Cryo: I'M SORRY--

Pyro: I know.

Cryo: I DON'T HATE YOU--

Pyro: I know.

Cryo: BECKYYYYYYYYY--

[Beck, of course, took a moment from self-repair to come and comfort his sister.]

[--He couldn't get one word in before hose arms started to wrap around his neck and pulled him in an embrace.]

Cryo: I'M SOOORRYYYYYY--

[Beck...well, at first, he was quite taken aback--he's never really SEEN his sister cry like this.]

[...But the surprise is only there for a moment.]

Beck: It's OK, Big Sis...

Cryo: -WAILS-

[Pyro simply rubs the top of her head, twangs of regret and pain in his optics. Eventually he had to call Father to help calm her down.]

Cryo: -SNIFF- daddyyy...

White: Shhh....it's alright, Cryo, everything will be fine...

Cryo: ...B--...but--sis....and...

[And then another wail escapes her.]

Cryo: AVIIIIII--

White: I know, I know--I....

[......]

White: I know....

Beck: Cryo--

Beck: Dad's working on finding a way to beat this virus--and I'm gonna get everyone back.

Cryo: ...-sniff-

Beck: You'll see--

Beck: We're all gonna be back together soon. We just gotta tough this out, OK?

Beck: So no more waterworks. ^.^

[......]

Cryo: ....-snort-

Cryo: G...Good one, bro...

Cryo: -SNIFF-

White: Rest while Sanda gets to work on repairing you and your tank--I need to get back to analysis.

Cryo: -sniff- OK, Daddy...

Pyro: I'll look after her.

[White nods, and hurries back to his terminal. A few ticks of the keyboard brings up the still-working analysis programs...]

White: Call, transfer the assimilated data over to me.

Call: Yes, Dr. White.

White: Now that I have two samples to compare, this will hopefully give us some more insight--

[PING!]

"DAD?? I THINK IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN--"

[ASSIMILATED XEL DATA SCAN COMPLETE.]

[REARRANGING XEL STRUCTURE...]

[REXELECTION: CRYOSPHERE]

"WHOOOOOA THAT WAS AWESOME--"

"That was...much more...different than the first time she gave it to you--"

"YEAH IT WAS WITHOUT THE LIGHT SHOW."

Cryo: BRO--BRO WHAT'S WITH THE FANCY LIGHT SHOW--

Beck: I--well...

[As Beck begins to explain his newfound abilities--much to Cryo's delight--White hums deeply in thought.]

[It was true--the lights that emitted from his Xels were not present when he acquired his siblings' powers before.]

White: (Interesting...)

White: ....Hmm.

Call: Dr. White.

White: Yes, Call?

Call: I detect a significant rise in your heart rate and vitals. Is something wrong?

White: .....

White: I'm just...nervous. Given the situation.

Call: ....

Call: Acknowledged. I will adjust the room temperature and atmosphere so that you may calm down.

White: ....Thank you, that would be nice.

White: ........

White: (Could Beck...)

White: (No--he CAN'T be. Not THIS soon...)

White: (He's not NEARLY as ready...)

White: (....Though...)

White: (The better question would be if WE would be ready...)

White: (...Gah, I shouldn't be thinking like that NOW, of all times...)

White: (I've GOT to crack this code--before it's too late...)

[MEANWHILE....]

"Phone call for you."

"......"

"Hey. PHONE CALL--"

"I heard you the first time."

"Tch. Jeez, old man. Don't think anyone would be using THIS frequency ever again..."

".....So it's him."

"Yup."

"Do you wanna answer...?"

"......."

"Uh....P-2045453?"

"I have a NAME."

"Sorry. Warden's orders."

"...Hmph."

"Hang up."

"That's gonna waste your one phone call for the day."

"I do not care. It's not like anyone calls me besides conspiracy theorists and crazed lunatics."

"....Yeah, you do get some loonies over the phone, huh..."

"But--I REALLY don't think you wanna hang up on the president of CherryDyn."

"........."

"Do I need to tell you twice?"

"......Oookaaaay, but I'm pretty sure he's gonna call back regardless--and I gotta come back here every time to let you know, so."

"........."

"....Uh--P-20--"

[A low, grating growl.]

"UH--I--I-mean--D-- Dr. Blackwell..."

"........"

"....Doctor...?"

"........."

"........I...I'm just gonna leave--uh, last meal of the day is in half an hour."

"............"

".......Soooo....bye. [sub] man, I hate this job...[/sub]"

[CLICK.]

"............"

"............."

"........Greg."

"You obsessed fool."

"You've DOOMED us all."

"......"

"I knew I should have taken...."

".........."

" . . . ."

"M-...My Ray of Hope..."

"....Forgive me..."

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=CHAPTER 5D: DESOLATE HIGHWAY=

~AO v1.0~

(Courtesy of @limitbreakers)

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{THE NEXT MORNING…}

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

Several releases, actually.

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

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

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

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

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

As for Beck?

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

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

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

Beck: yes please

Jaden: Well, um. Okay…

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

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

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

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

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

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

((Pizzazium Infinianite!))

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

Beck: ...That?

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

Beck: Oh, um--uh...

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

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

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

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

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

Beck: --!

[Click.]

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

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

[NON-XEL WEAPON DATA DETECTED.]

[BEGINNING ANALYSIS.]

[ACCESSING XEL STOCK 1.]

Beck: --????

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

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

Beck: -UH--

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

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

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

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

[ANALYZING DATA...]

Beck: ....?

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

Beck: I--oh. Huh.

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

Jaden: ?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[He sighed.]

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

Beck: ....Yeah.

Beck: . . .

[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]

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

Beck: --Oooooo...

Jaden: -Brightens up a bit at that-

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

[XEL ABSORBED.]

Beck: --Whoa--

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

Beck: --...Aw...

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

Jaden: Mmm.

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

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

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

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

Beck: ......

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

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

Beck: ...!

Beck: Oh--no, I...

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

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

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

Beck: ....

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

Beck: ......

Beck: Jaden?

Beck: -...is something wrong?-

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

[He smiles a little.]

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

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

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

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

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

[He pauses.]

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

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

Beck: Mmm...

Beck: ......

[Jaden seems somewhat troubled.]

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

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

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

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

Beck: Eheh....

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

{Living Room}

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

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

Cryo: -BRO YOU'RE ON TV--

Beck: Whoaa--!!

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

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

Kalinka: Hero, herooo~

Digger: Yes good~ : DDD

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

Beck: ^///^;;

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

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

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

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

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

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

Avi: Eeeexactamundo, Avi! ^.^

Beck: ...?

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

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

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

Nico: …? Beck?

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

Nico: .__.; Beck?

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

Beck: ....?

Beck: ...! Oh--!

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

Beck: Jaden let me borrow it.

Nico: -Looks over-

Jaden: -Ping of confirmation, calm-

Nico: -Oh, okay then- -RELIEF-

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

Cryo: -oooooo, coooool-

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

Nico: —?!

Dyna: -Wait you did what--

Beck: -KEY WORD 'TRIED'-

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

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

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

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

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

Pyro: Hmm...

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

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

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

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

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

Beck: Uh...

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

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

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

Beck: ....?

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

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

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

[Nico throws his hand outward.]

WHANG.

[…Avi is now stuck to the ceiling.]

Jaden: !

[Aaaaand the other one.]

WHANG.

[Jaden is stuck to the wall.]

Pisces: …bro, that was harsh.

Beck: --!

Avi:

-OW--that kinda smarts...-

Nico: Enough.

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

Avi: -FACEPLANT-

-Muffled ouch noises-

Beck: . . . . .

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

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

Speedy: Whaaaaaaatever you say, bro.

Beck: . . .

Beck: I...

Beck: . . .

[...Uh oh.]

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

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

Goose: Wait, wat .-.

Beck: .....

Beck: Oh...

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

Pyro: ...How so?

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

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

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

Nico: Because he knows how they work.

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

Beck: .....

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

Beck: --!

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

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

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

[He messed up again--]

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

Beck: -SUDDEN ERRATIC DATA-

[Suddenly, Kalinka yelled.]

Kalinka: {LOOK!}

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

Pyro: --??

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

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

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

Beck: --.....?

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

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

Avi: ....Unless...

Skull: ???

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

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

Avi: ....

Avi: -AW NO-

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

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

Beck: --!!!

Keltso: {What?!}

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

Avi: YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME--!

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

Dyna: -BZZZZZZZZZZ WITH A N G E R-

Cryo: THAT'S IT LEMMIE AT HIM--

Beck: ......

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

Beck: (But why?)

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

Nico: ...

<DWN-018 has entered Defensive Combat mode.>

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

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

There is a ping.]

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

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

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

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

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

Pyro: It's all over the news--

Will: .....

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

Will: .....

Will: ....

Will: ...Hmm.

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

Beck: --???

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

Will: I can see that...

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

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

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

Will: (What changed--?)

Beck: ...Dad--?

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

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

[Another ping.]

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

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

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

[PING!]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Avi: ---.....

Avi: -N...Ngh--

Cryo: --?? Avi--?

[They all falter a moment when they remember.

Avi knew EXACTLY what they were talking about.]

Avi: -Nngnngh it hurts--

Dyna: Avi--Avi breathe--

[And what's worse...

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

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

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

Beck: Avi--!

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

Pisces: ...

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

Pisces: I wonder who it is--

Speedy: Wait a second--

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

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

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

[PING--!]

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I just wanna say..."

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

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

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

Digger: -PING, we like this guy-

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

Speedy: {MORE OR LESS—}

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

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

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

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

"Dude."

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

Beck: ....?

"Is this guy high?"

Speedy: -Snorts-

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

Will: -...snorts softly-

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

Beck: -snICKERS--

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

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

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

Will: --!!!

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

The next call is from...Minnesota?]

Cryo: --!

"H...Hello?"

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

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

Pyro: !

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

Cryo: .....

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

[Click.]

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

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

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

Beck: ....!

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

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

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

Pisces: Insecurity, I bet. Among other things.

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

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

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

"YEAH THAT CORPORATE MOOK CAN SUCK IT--"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Avi: --!!

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

Jaden: —! (Uh-oh—!)

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

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

Avi: .....Oh...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beck: They....

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

[Click.]

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

[Click.]

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

[Click.]

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

[There is one final call--]

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

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

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

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

"We believe in you!"

Beck: (They....)

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

Will: Ah...

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

Beck: (People believe in me?)

Cryo:

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

Dyna:

-We MAY be letting our mascara run--

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

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

Goose: -ON IT, ME-- -

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

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

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

...

... Static?]

Speedy: …!

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

-Ping.-

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

Dyna: --! TOBY--!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{Meanwhile…}

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

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

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

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

Cardinal: _(Glitch glitch glitch—!)_

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

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

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

Because now he was REALLY on a time limit.]

>DISTANCE REMAINING: CALCULATING…

[He felt panicked the moment he realized it.

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

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

He was waiting for something _bigger.]_

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

>DISTANCE REMAINING: 1,000 MILES

_* >LOADING…*_

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

=CHAPTER 1D: RAGING FLAMES SMOLDER=

~AO v1.0~

(Courtesy of @limitbreakers, @unluckyadept)

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

{BACK IN THE UNITED KINGDOM…}

Jack: .....

Jack: [Frag.]

[On the other side of the globe, a certain CDN was also on a solo mission on his own...

....Albeit with only half of a plan and only a few small details as to how exactly he was going to get back to the US of A. To find her.

[With MN.6 taking control of all airwaves and signals, simply teleporting there was out of the question. Most normal means of transportation would be very hard to get to at this point--without resorting to less moralistic means--and taking the long way would just take up way too much time...

With America quarantined, and with no easy way to contact anyone that could help him...

...Jack was running out of options.]

Jack: (OK, OK, just...think, Jack. Remember what the bird guy said...)

Jack: (He said that Miss Eight would go after people that did her wrong--that includes her brother, Seven--so I gotta find HIM first...but where the hell IS HE?)

Jack: (Plus, how the HECK am I gonna get to the States in the FIRST place? Nothing is working, no one's gonna listen, everything is SCREWY...)

Jack: (Think, you moron, think...)

Jack: ......

Jack: ......!!!!

"Head to the Meadow when you get the chance."

Jack: THAT place...!

Jack: Don't have any other options, anyway...

[A flutter of his trenchcoat and Jack's barrelling down the street with nothing but the clothes on his back.]

[........]

[In a distant dark alley, something long and metallic slinks away, its single red eye unblinking. It passes by an oozing pile of acid and green shrapnel, ignoring it entirely as it goes on its way.]

—————————————————————

{The Meadow}

[It doesn’t take long for Jack to arrive.

But he’s running so fast that he nearly runs right into the lab door.]

Jack: --!!!

[He--He did NOT expect that.]

[He manages to put on the breaks--but he still sort of bumps into the door hard enough to make a noticeable dent.]

[Within moments, someone opened the door, looking irritable.

…Except the same someone was also visible further back in the lab, looking confused.]

Jack: --!

Jack: ........

Jack: Um.

Siam: What are you doing raising a ruckus in the middle of the night.

Gemini: -Simultaneously, surprised- Jack?!

Jack: Hiiiiiiiii... -Waves meekly.-

Siam: Come inside before you wake the others up—

Gemini: We had just been calling you not too long ago! We weren’t sure what had become of you…

Jack: Okokok--

[Oops. Bird guy told him that these guys would call his landline or something--]

[Siam doesn’t really wait for an answer, more or less dragging Jack indoors.

There are numerous screens displaying schematics, blueprints, and massive amounts of data. There were several other Robot Masters hooked up to terminals, clearly in Sleep mode…

…though a few appeared to be Offline, including Snow and… Tobias…]

Jack: ......

[Jack put his hands in his pockets. The spark kid....]

[THIS was the guy that practically punched his ex boss in the face with a fistful of thunder.

And now he was basically down for the count.]

Jack: ..... -Exhales-

Siam: FMN-008 told us that she’d talked with you, and you had important information to share. What was she referring to?

Gemini: Are you alright? Do you need repairs?

Siamini: Where is she?

Jack: Nono, I'm fine--

Jack: ....

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

[This seems to break their attention span by making them both react with a mix of disappointment and acceptance.]

Siam: I had hoped…

Gemini: She’d talked more with you than anyone else, Siam: you were just the one most likely for her to contact to let you know she was alright…

[Gemini returns to his work at the terminal, while Siam starts going through some cabinets.]

Siam: Do you need answers, repairs, advice, a place to stay, some combination thereof, or neither?

Jack: ........

Jack: Uh. Well...

[Jack takes up a seat at one of the tables.]

Jack: .....

Jack: I...Actually came here to let you guys know some things, too.

Jack: ...About the crosses. And...

Jack: ......

[THIS gets their attention. They are alert, and communicating quite complex abstract data.]

Siam: We hope to Siamini: study Gemini: the code left behind when Siamini: the virus Gemini: infected our server and subsequently Siamini: the trail Siam: left behind when Siamini: Eight and Six Gemini: fused together.

Siam: Information on that could prove Siamini: highly Siam: valuable.

Gemini: …Although. You do deserve to know more of the full story behind what happened at the Siamini: finals… -Look(s) over at Tobias-

[He seems contemplative for a moment, and then he speaks up again.]

Siam: Whatever you have to say, I will likely turn my full attention to it.

Gemini: So it would be best to bring you up to task before that…

<DWN-019>: Thoughts?

Jack: ....

[....He did have questions of his own, yes...]

Jack: OK, alright...I guess that's cool.

[...He just hoped he was quick about it.]

[Gemini starts talking exclusively. The two of him suddenly look…

…emotionally tired.]

Gemini: From the start, you were entered into our databases positively. This is a rare thing, due to the nature of… our world, and the… paranoia that comes to those who live in fear.

Jack: (Rare, huh...)

Gemini: We did not understand why at the time, but the fact that it was was important—

Gemini: It meant you had done something to suggest you were not an enemy. Possibly even an ally. So… while our soul-brothers struggled on, we maintained insistence that they treat you gently, unless given absolute proof of reason to do otherwise.

Jack: .......

Jack: So, basically, you guys knew I wasn't a pain in the chass...

Gemini: Well…. You must understand, we were still very nervous. But what we’ve been put through…

[He shudders in unison.]

Gemini: We didn’t want anyone else to suffer that. And especially once David told us he’d seen you…. That let us know you were more like us. We wanted to help you out, but we couldn’t interfere. We did try to learn more, but it was no use. However. That changed on the day of the finals.

Jack: . . .

Gemini: Then. We knew for certain.

[A beat.]

Gemini: -Looks over at Tobias, venting a sigh- …Actually, we all went into Lethal at that point, not just Tobias.

Jack: ......Damn....

[If that happened then, he couldn't imagine what they were like when this all went down....]

Gemini: It was…

Siam: It was like seeing a brother die.

Gemini: My God help us, the cross-references…

Jack: . . .

Gemini: …Tobias always was the most like Father.

Siam: Cardinal, we were able to prevent because we were right next to him, but no one had been paying attention to Tobias….

Gemini: He’d blacked out after Dyna was taken hostage, from the weight of his own memories.

Siamini: -SIGH-

Gemini: He was so afraid after he was repaired, at…

Siam: …what might become of him, having lost control.

Jack: Poor kid...

Gemini: Having hacked.

Siam: Having attacked. He was once hunted as a terrorist, you know…

Gemini: The fear of the

Siamini: [color=blue] HUNTER [/color]

Siam: persisted with him long after Cardinal and Countershade became so close as to be interchangeable…

Jack: .........

Jack: (Bird guy and Eight...)

[He sighed again, looking in opposite directions.]

Gemini: It is hard to think back “that far,” for it seems a world away, now. But we were so focused on… finding out what had happened.

Gemini: After FMN-008 finally revealed her presence permanently, she spoke up further on your behalf and explained what she knew from her conversations with you.

Gemini: At the time, we were worried most about if we would be hunted as malfunctioning—

Siam: —insist they don’t punish /malfunctioning/ but—

Gemini: —not of the world—

[A garble of data, which quiets down.]

Jack: .......

Gemini: …We didn’t even have the chance to TALK the situation over with Dr. White and the Mighty Numbers, to figure out what to do about Tobias’s lashing out…

Siam: …Dr. White said he wanted to wait until they got back.

Gemini: We only saw them for a few hours before…

Siam: …before this.

Jack: .......

Jack: M'sorry.

[Siam starts pacing.]

Siam: It infected the server. Our server is connected to Sanda Enterprises; specifically, the server that houses Mighty Number memories.

Jack: .....The servers...

Jack: (So that--it wasn't the--!)

Jack: Hang on.

Siamini: Yes?

Jack: So...it infected YOUR servers...

Jack: ....

Jack: The virus....

Jack: It infected American CherryDyn servers too.

[The brother looks between himself, and then over to Jack with a frown.]

Gemini: …Jack, something you should know.

Siam: It would take a long time to explain all the details, but for a while now, Cardinal has been convinced that Gregory Graham had been planning to make a massive power grab, by means of setting up a crisis and solving it publicly.

Jack: --?!

Jack: What…? (He did NOT tell me that--)

Siam: He believed that the highway incident earlier in the year was the result of something in this plan going… wrong.

Jack: Wrong...?

Siam: The fact that Graham took the time during THIS disaster to—yet again, as before—publicly say “don’t blame me! Blame someone else!” does not help matters.

Gemini: -Dryly- Guilty conscience, perhaps?

Siam: Or just really bad lying?

Gemini: That’s what Cardinal believed, at any rate.

Siam: “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

Jack: ................

Jack: Jeezus....

[This...this was bigger than he thought.]

[Much, much bigger.]

Siam: That is part of why FMN-008 feared for your well being. Something went wrong again in the finals, clearly; something that had not been intended to be publicly known yet.

Gemini: If ever.

Siam: Likely never.

Jack: ...........

Jack: I....

[What in the world was going on now?]

[Could...]

[Could this be...just too much to handle?]

[Suddenly Jack felt like he was up against MORE than just a virus.]

Jack: .......

[A pause.]

Siam: To be honest, I’m not sure that it’s that level of conspiracy.

[Another pause, with only minimal hesitation.]

Gemini: …To put it bluntly…

Siamini: …Graham just doesn’t seem all that smart.

Jack: -....snickers-

Jack: Hehehehe....

Siam: Heh… well… ‘hem. -Slight grin- That’s a discussion for later, when Dr. Cossack is here.

Gemini: At any rate… -Siiiigh, and the good mood is lost- …When Number Six disrupted things…

Siam: …Tobias tried to talk things out with him.

Jack: ......

[Jack looks back to the spark bot.]

Jack: Take it that it didn't go so well.

Gemini: That’s one way to put it.

Siam: To put it simply… and since you have proven yourself, you may know this…

Siam: If Tobias were a traditional Xelbot? His secondary ability would be Communication.

Gemini: He has vast power in that area and maintains a firm control with great finesse— Siam: —but he is only able to do that because he is /sensitive/ enough to be able to pick up and send out such things.

[…Aaaaaaaand Number Six had taken over wireless communications…]

[Oh dear.]

Siam: …

Gemini: …

Siam: …Airman didn’t take too kindly to Tobias putting up resistance and breaking his monopoly.

Gemini: Light Eight tried to warn him…

Jack: ....

Jack: Oh my God...

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

“The reason the brothers got all hot an’ bothered is, well. -Shakes head, working dart over- Fact is…

They all have died at least once, each. Includin’ th’ kid.

Picked off one by one. By the likes a’ me. Me an’ Blaster both.

They’re purty sensitive t’ the idea a’ bein’ hunted again as a result. Some of ‘em saw or heard—definitely felt— others in their line die as it was happenin’, live.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Siam: -Flatly- He wasn’t prepared for the horrors that awaited him when he broke past the resistance.

Gemini: He didn’t take control, as he had been hoping for.

Siam: No. Hardly.

Siamini: His neural net got fused together and suffered the consequences that is to be a Robot Master.

Siamini: The suffering was FAR too much for him to handle.

Jack: ......

Jack: (Don't ask what he saw, don't ask what he saw--)

Jack: ......But he's still in control of the airwaves, isn't he?

Siam: -Holds a hand out to the side- He is now, yes.

Gemini: -Mirrors the gesture exactly- But for a few hours, he was not.

Siam: During that time, interdimensional and overseas calls were possible.

Jack: ......!

Siam: We managed to talk with them and let them know we were… mostly alright, other than what had happened to our electronic genius.

Gemini: Beck even… promised to save them, to give them the mercy our brother never showed us…

Jack: Wait— the kid that was on the bench in the finals??

Siam: He fought a Round Digger all by himself and disinfected it, Jack.

Jack: Wha--

Jack: He WHAT?!

[...Jack had NO CLUE just what Beck was capable of--now, at least.]

Jack: (Holy...that little kid against his whole TEAM...his family...)

Jack: (I know the kid is supposed to have some sort of special ability but--)

Gemini: Believe or disbelieve all you like, but I am convinced he is more than capable of fulfilling his promise.

Siam: Not that it will make it any less difficult or less unpleasant.

Gemini: Dr. Cossack assured them that Tobias would recover, and spoke that it be an example of why no one else should interfere—

[…aaaAAAAAAND NOW THE MIRRORED, DOUBLED FACEPALM.]

Jack: --?

Siamini: -Broadcasting- “NO ONE. ELSE. INTERFERE.”

Jack: . . . .

Jack: Uh.

Jack: . . . .

Siam: He turned off his signal we are nEVER GOING TO FIND HIM

Gemini: He’s MILITARY, he knows how to avoid being tracked and seen—

Siam: HE’S GOING TO GET HIMSELF KIIIIIIILLLLLED BY YOUR POLICE—

Gemini: -Nonverbal ranting, rant rant rant!-

Siamini: Cardinal went after Shade, we discovered TOO LATE!

Jack: (--WAIT A MINUTE.)

"He's not here, you've got no leads...time to move on."

[CALLER ID: KANSAS CITY.]

Jack: HOLD UP--

Jack: You're talking about the bird guy--right?!

Jack: He called me!

Siamini: !

<DWN-019>: > -DOUBLED DELUGE DEMANDING DATA-

[…More of the desperate than the angry kind, though.

He was clearly very worried.

…Very, VERY worried.]

Jack: OW OKOK--

Jack: Must've been when Six was down for those few hours--

Jack: The call came from Kansas City, but....

Siamini: -Seems… sad-

Jack: He wanted to know more about the crosses--I told him what I knew, and he told me to come here when I had the chance--and pass the info along to you guys.

[A soft sigh. Shuffling, looking away.]

Siam: …Did he have any message for us?

Jack: Uh...

[.....]

Jack: Something about the Bible...

Jack: John 15:13, I think...?

Siamini: …!

[…But the surprise soon gives way to clear sorrow.]

Siam: He…

Gemini: Heh… he…

Siam: -Regretfully, in a way- Of course he would do that…

Jack: ......

Jack: M'sorry...

Gemini: -Softly- “No one has greater love than this…”

Siam: “…to lay down one's life for one's friends.”

Jack: --!

Jack: .....

Jack: (Miss Eight...)

Jack: (Real deep stuff you're laying down here, bird guy...)

Jack: ......

Jack: Sorry I...I'm not much help...I...

Jack: (....REALLY hope you know what you're doing...)

Siam: -Weary… and sad…-

Gemini: -Just plain weary- No…

Gemini: It should have been expected and anticipated. We were not surprised. Alarmed, yes, but not surprised….

Gemini: It is the path he chose long ago, and none can deter it from him as long as he yet runs.

Gemini: He has made his choice. I only wish he weren’t so fragile…

Jack: ......

Jack: (Fragile...like a bird...)

Jack: (Flying solo for your friend, huh...)

Gemini: At least he took Jazz with him.

[Siamini lets out a long sigh.]

Siam: …That brings us up to the present, I suppose.

Gemini: Do you have any other questions we may answer?

Jack: .....

Jack: (Should I ask 'em if they can help me find Miss Eight? If they couldn't stop the bird guy, they'll DEFINITELY try and stop me....)

Jack: Uh...no, no--well, sorta. Do you guys got anything I can use? Like--supplies and stuff. Just to have on hand.

Jack: And...if you've heard anything from Miss Eight's family.

[Siam shakes his head, but Gemini nods.]

Siam: We have not heard from them yet, but we may hear from them within a week’s time. They are running on a different rate of time passage, so details may be different or confused. Time warps can fuzz the memory rather severely, as our own family can personally attest to. One remembers a general feeling, but not specific events…

Gemini: Oh, of course. Let’s see… if you’re on the move, a small radio would be good, so that you may stay informed while also keeping your own signal off the radar… -Starts going through the cabinets that Siam was looking through earlier-

Gemini: A compass and some maps will also help to that end. We have some extra.

[He brings those out and sets them on the table, while Siam wanders off. When he comes back, he has what appears to be a small cooler… or else a very large lunchbox.]

Siam: It’s not much, but with what you’re going through… lunch and dinner over the next few days to indulge in is the least we can do.

[There are sandwiches, sauces, ice cream bars, milk bottles, soda, even Xelpops in there!]

Jack: (....Holy crap FOOD. Jeezus, when was the last time I ate???)

[Jack starts folding the maps and stuffing the radio and compass in various pockets--he was still wearing his Greater Dusk attire, and for once he was glad the whole biker gangster style included lots of pockets.]

Jack: Thanks, man... (Oh jeez those sandwiches look so good right now.)

[…This doesn’t go unnoticed.]

Siam: Goodness. When was the last time you ate, Jack?

Gemini: I have an idea. How about I go make a dinner while you tell me what you have to say? Your choice—there is plenty to choose from.

Siam: Oh, I agree—a most excellent idea. What would you like?

Jack: .....

Jack: Dude--double dude-- I could eat a house, man--hamburgers--soda--do you guys have steak-- Chicken???

Jack: ....

Jack: ....oh right--

Jack: Please?

[Siamini chuckles at that.]

Gemini: I’ll go make the steak and potatoes. -Walks off-

Siam: We just had a taco night, so there’s no hamburger meat left.

Jack: -just--food--Ya know what we're gonna suck on a Xelpop while we wait-

Siam: We’re sorry that we couldn’t entertain you as a guest before now. Though David—Snow, that is—did mention meeting you.

Jack: --! Oh, the ice kid...

Jack: ....

Jack: His ice cream ROCKS, man.... Stuff in the store just falls short, Heh...

[Siam smiles at that.]

Siam: Ah, yes, I recall it being said he made several batches for you—one after the finals, for you to have in the hospital. We are very glad you’re better, by the way.

Jack: Ehehe...yeah, me too...kinda stinks being stuck in a bed all day, but the ice cream really helped...

Jack: One of the other GDs was even jealous, I think. Pretty sure he tried to jack it from me more than once, but the nurses are like hawks, double dude.

Siam: Heh.

Jack: ....

Jack: Dunno where they all went after we got released from the place... separate ways, I think.

Siam: -More serious expression now- What did they do with Bladeblaster’s core? Please tell me they locked it in a strongbox.

[.......]

[Jack's expression fell.]

Jack: .......

Siam: … -Cringes inwardly-

Jack: They....They sent it back to CherryDyn for them to look over what went wrong with him.

Jack: ....They said they found nothin', so they patched him up and kept him in for observation.

Jack: ....Then...

Jack: .......

Jack: He's dead, man. Dead.

Siam: … -Just closes his eyes and shakes his head slowly, his data suggesting a cold sort of discomfort-

Jack: .......

Jack: I...they told me he was...

Jack: Freakin' tortured...

Jack: ......

Jack: -turns away- (Is it bad that I still think he deserved it?)

Jack: .... Dunno about the other GDs... I could... (I could be the only one left...)

[Siam put a reassuring hand on Jack’s shoulder.]

Siam: …Being a last survivor is hard, even when you don’t like the other members. (Lord knows how much it’s hurt our family.) But… you are welcome to stay here as long as you need, if that’s what you want.

Jack: It's just...kinda scary...

Jack: If it wasn't for Miss Eight...

Jack: .......

Siam: (This must all be so very hard on him right now, the poor man.)

Jack: .....

[Jack takes a deep breath.

As much as he REALLY did wanted to just lay low and hope this whole mess all blows over...

...He couldn't stay.]

Jack: Thanks, double dude...but I think I'm gonna just eat here a while before I head on out.

Jack: Should probably tell ya what bird guy wanted you to know about the crosses before I do, anyway...

Siam: Ah, yes… thank you, that will help.

Jack: Alright.... Where to start...

Jack: Putting them on when they weren't active--didn't do a thing. They were made of Xel, so I guess the crosses also had this REALLY tiny core to keep it together....

Jack: They just looked like freaky jewelry to other people. I didn't like it. Felt...wrong. That's why I always hid mine under my shirt.

Siam: …In what sense? Physically, or morally?

Jack: ....Both? The cross felt...cold. Like it was just pulled out of the freezer, no matter how hot it was out.

Jack: That and inverted crosses are USUALLY a bad sign, double dude. Have you SEEN horror movies?

[Siam gave a cold smile.]

Siam: One of my younger brothers was a snake. He had the same sort of personality your boss had.

Siam: I was hunted down and KILLED by my own brother.

Siam: Jack, my friend—

Siam: We LIVE horror movies.

Jack: . . .

Jack: -sweATS NERVOUSLY- (Ooooookaaaaaay.)

Jack: G-Got it...

[Siam’s expression softens, and he sighs, bowing his head.]

Siam: …I’m sorry. Forgive me.

Siam: …This is just all so very much like the darkest of our days, that which we had hoped to prevent from befalling your world… no matter what the cost to us may be. The panic, the hunt… and we could do nothing to stop it, and can do nothing to help.

Siam: …We have survived these last years by living with a man and a community of deep faith. -Looks over at Shadow, who is Offline… and in his civvies for once, his hands folded over to touch the crucifix he always wore-

Siam: When you threw the cross down in the finals, that did allow us to briefly see what it was. …The use of that symbol did not go unnoticed.

Jack: …

Siam: Our “youngest” brother believed the one behind it was trying to “play God” and was using that symbol on purpose, as a highly disrespectful mockery.

Siam: -Softly- I do not discount the notion.

Jack: ..........

Jack: (The Provider...)

Jack: .....

Jack: Well, whatever nutjob made those things did a REAL good job fragging shit up.

Siam: Let me show you what we saw.

Jack: Kay...

[A few clips briefly play.]

————————————

Tobias: I don’t understand—! What’s going on?!

[They all fell silent when a quiet voice spoke up unexpectedly.]

Mikhail: … -Quietly- Berserkers.

Cardinal: …! What?

Mikhail: In ancient times, there were men of great strength, warriors that were great and terrible. They could work themselves into a rage that made them almost seem to ignore their wounds in battle—a madness that they channeled with incredible force.

Mikhail: This is why there is the phrase “going berserk.” This is almost exactly what it means.

Mikhail: But to concentrate only on bloodlust, at the loss of sense…

[He adjusted his glasses, the light glinting off them in a glare that obscured his eyes.]

Mikhail: …Especially against tacticians, that can be a very heavy price…

——————

Cardinal: What does he think he is doing—?!

Shadow: He is no longer thinking at all, you fool!

[He pointed at the screen, barely even noticing he’d already called a Shadow Blade to his hand.]

Shadow: LOOK AT HIM! He is possessed by the madness!

Cardinal: Oh God—if he can no longer think, then that means…

Cardinal: He won’t care anymore about the rules!

————————————

Jack: (Berserkers...)

Jack: ...........

Jack: God, it must've been horrifying for you guys to watch...

[Siam winces, looking over at Tobias.]

Siam: The horrifying part was when Number Eight was gutted. My stars. It was just like the first time he died.

Jack: (.....Spark kid...)

Jack: ............

Siam: -Seems deep in thought- …The talismans…. Was Mikhail right? Did they… induce that berserker state?

Jack: ....You bet they did....

Jack: When they went active...

Jack: All I felt was rage.

Siam: …

Jack: All I felt was...this feeling to break things.

Jack: It was ALL I could think about...

Jack: All...I could think about was...

Jack: How much I wanted to hurt Blade.

Jack: .....

Jack: It was like... something just...took over and....and...

Jack: --....

Jack: I knew it was bad. I had this gut feeling WAY before the finals...

Jack: I knew.

Jack: So I fought back.

Siam: … -Focused but also thoughtful- … -After some hesitation…- …We know what that feels like. …You have our deepest empathy.

Jack: ........

Siam: We know that to fight it off is no easy thing. …You are a stronger man than you give yourself credit for, Jack. Not everyone has the will or stamina to do this.

Jack: .....

Jack: -Sigh- Double dude, I'm just a normal guy that wanted some extra cash in his pocket. Sure, I'm probably not such a piece of scrap, after all, but...

Jack: I'm not special.

Jack: I'm just...lucky, I guess.

Siam: -Gentle slight smile- I suppose. Having Lady Luck on your side is always nice. Heh… I wouldn’t have survived otherwise.

[It was at this point that the smell of delicious, glorious, tender S T E A K came drifting through the air—]

Jack: --!!!!!

[Jack shoots up into a straighter sitting position, eyes WIDE and eager--]

Jack: That--that is the most awesome smell I've ever--

[Gemini walked in with a platter. A platter with SO MUCH FOOD.

There was steak, there was loaded baked potato with extra toppings set to the side—

Corn, green bean casserole, a tall glass of cold milk, a small bowl of fruit salad— and some chocolate pudding with Oreo bits and whipped cream!]

Gemini: -Sets it down at the table- Sorry to keep you waiting.

Jack: . . .

[Jack might have kicked himself later for forgetting his manners--but he just dove into the most delicious food he's ever eaten in his entire life.]

Jack: -dATA, SO MUCH DATA, OH GOD THIS IS SO GOOD HE COULD CRY- -HOW ARE YOU NOT IN SOME FOUR STAR RESTAURANT SERVING THIS, DOUBLE DUDE-

[This pleased the twins greatly, of course. He wasn’t as talented as Nico (and knew it), but it was nice to know one could still do a very good job.

Gemini returned to the mainframe console, resuming his work, while Siam happily and absentmindedly hummed and wrote down notes on a yellow legal notepad.]

Siam: -Amused and pleased, yet humble- I learned cooking mostly from Señor Gonzales and from my immediately older brother, Alnico Wily.

Jack: -oh man this is so good awwww yessss-

Siam: I am most suited for lab work… Nico’s the one who’s truly the closest to a Domestic. We make large family dinners—pasta or casserole the most often. There are nine of us now, after all. Ten, when you count me twice.

Jack: -...we're nearly halfway done with this meal OOO MILK-

[Jack nearly cleans out everything on the plate--apparently he has a rather large appetite.]

Jack: Ooooh, maaaaaaaan...

Jack: -cannot remember the last time he felt THIS full-

[Siam takes the liberty of placing the (very few) leftovers in a container that Gemini had brought in earlier, and placing that in the cooler. Gemini cleared away the dishes, and Siam spoke absentmindedly, automatically dimming the lights a little and increasing the temperature just a little to help make the atmosphere more calming.]

Siam: We wish you the best as you go on elsewhere, though the invitation still stands if you change your mind. I do hope you come back soon at least once—I think Felix had a gift for you.

Jack: ...?

Jack: Uh...I think maybe I'll just pick that up on the way? Where is he?

[Hopefully he had enough luck on his side to get back to the States in time...AND in one piece.]

Siam: He’s out a bit further in the Wilderness. There’s a path that leads more or less right by his house. (Granted, his house is underground, but Captain Piers will be by the road, at least.)

Jack: Hmm. Got it--I'll head that way for now.

[Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Jack straightened out his coat and grabbed the cooler with his other hand, stretching himself out a couple of times--the doc said he had to often just to keep himself limber.]

Jack: Nnh....

[...Despite the looming danger in front of him, and what was yet to come...

...Strangely, Jack didn't feel all that worried about it at the moment. Maybe it was the food.]

Jack: ....

Jack: Oi—didn't catch your name, actually.

Siamini: DWN-019: Project name “Geminiman”. Artificial Awareness and Intelligence, Combat Class.

Siam: “Siam” is the name granted to me, after the old phrase “siamese twins”—which itself originated regarding such a pair from Siam, which is a location.

Gemini: “Gemini” is the name granted to me, after the legend of the twins who were given a place among the heavens as a stellar constellation in the sky.

Siamini: Collectively, most people refer to me as “Siamini”,

Siam: …though David has taken to calling me “Sam” and “Samini”. I suppose it’s easier on a child to use fewer vowel-related syllables…

Jack: .....wow.

Jack: Iiiii am just gonna stick to Siam and Double Dude, if ya don't mind.

Jack: Thanks for all the help.

[Gemini shrugs in a “I’m used to it” sort of manner, and Siam nods.]

Siam: Thank you for confirming where our oldest brother has been, and what his intentions are…

Gemini: …and that he is, in fact, aware and prepared to accept the hardships ahead.

Siam: And also for your information on the crosses. Thank you, truly.

Gemini: We all wish you the best. We may have more questions later, so… send word when you’re settled down somewhere safe, alright?

Jack: .....

Jack: Yeah. I'll...try.

[With that, Jack makes his way over to the door, opens it...]

Jack: .....

Jack: Double Dude?

Siamini: Yes?

Jack: If you see her...

Jack: ....

Jack: Tell her I just couldn't help it.

Jack: Keep in touch.

[....And out he goes.]

Jack: (Hang on, Miss Eight...)

Jack: (I'm coming...)

{THE WILDERNESS}

[...Jack never thought he'd find himself in this kind of situation.]

[Last week he was only worried about how the heck he was going to pay the rent for the flat, and what exactly he was going to do next in terms of finding another job--]

[Now he was venturing into god-knows-where across time and space JUST to get back home, which was in the middle of a cyber pandemic, all to see if the woman who saved his life was out there doing good or...]

Jack: ....

Jack: I'm fraggin' crazy for doing this...

[Yet he still ventured forward, down the path he was told to walk to retrieve whatever 'gift' this Felix guy had to give him, supposedly...]

[The weather was mild, at least—though it was still a bit too warm.]

[Evident by someone later along the path leaning up against a pillar made of ice.]

Jack: .....

Jack: ...?

Jack: (....That's...ice. but--it's warm out???)

[Confused and intrigued, Jack kept walking, approaching the stranger next to it. Maybe he knew where to go?]

Jack: Uh....'scuse me?

Piers: -Looks up- ?

[The man had golden eyes and aqua colored hair. The air around him seemed to be cooler and… gentler, somehow.]

Piers: I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met before. May I help you?

Jack: (...OK, I've seen people dye their hair some CRAZY colors but--)

Jack: Um--yeah, same here. CDN.7037, Designation 'Dencerjack'. Just call me Jack...

[His eyes keep glancing back to the ice pillar, wondering where in the world it had come from--this guy registered as an organic, but he was getting some weird energy readings from him too...]

Jack: Uh--I'm looking for a guy called Felix? The guys back at that Meadow told me he had something for me.

Piers: Ah… yes, that makes sense.

[He drew up to his full height, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword.

…Oh. A sword, okay then.]

Piers: I am Captain Piers of Lemuria—a Mercury warrior Adept. Felix is still locked in the cursed dreams… I fear that it is the current disaster which overtook him. However, he did have some gifts prepared before he fell ill. One of them was for you.

Jack: (....Uhhh.) Nice to meet you...

[There were so many things Jack wanted to ask about that--the sword, where the heck was Lemuria and what in the world was an Adept--but he didn't have the time...]

Jack: Yeah, things have REALLY gone down the drain, huh. ...Hope he gets better soon.

Piers: I believe he shall, but that may not be until the crisis has passed… -Small sigh- It is hard to say, outside of time, how long it may take.

[He held out a hand slightly as he looked to the side, and…]

[The Mercury Djinn, after appearing in a soft aqua light, looked at Jack curiously.

Or, as curiously as something with solid-colored eyes could look.]

Jack: ?!?

Jack: (What the fresh Xel is THAT.)

Piers: My good friend… please retrieve the gift for Jack, so that he may continue on his journey.

[The Djinn made the sound of a bubbling stream before floating off.]

Piers: -Turns to face Jack, looking at him thoughtfully before giving a gentle smile- I see others have supplied you for the journey ahead as well. I must say… it’s nice to start off a quest with something at hand.

[Jack just...stared at the otherworldly creature as it floated away, not sure if what he's seeing is actually REAL or if he has TRULY gone mad.]

Jack: Yeaaaaaah surrrrre....

[Excuse him, Piers, he's still new at this.

Piers moved away from the ice pillar and looked ahead down the path, pointing to the horizon.]

Piers: Keep your sights on that city, and you shall arrive where you seek soon enough.

[…WOW OKAY. There was a city there that was NOT there before—

—and what’s more, it looked familiar! It was definitely somewhere from Jack’s own world!

Jack looked to where he pointed--his violet eyes widening as he locked his gaze into something familiar in this huge mess of chaos--it almost felt relieving to see his destination at last.

...In fact...judging from the city skyline--it almost looked like...]

[..Seattle?]

Jack: ......

Jack: I REALLY hope it's not gonna be raining by the time I get there...

Jack: That city is almost ALWAYS raining, see...

Jack: (...It's better than nothing, at least.)

[Piers smiled a little.]

Piers: Do you have a poncho you could use? That’s what I’d recommend.

Jack: Uh....

Jack: ...Noooope. You, uh, wouldn't have that and anything else I can use...?

[Yeah, the more stuff he can get on hand, the better. He's gonna need ALL the help he can get if he's going to be tracking down Miss Eight.]

Piers: We can loan you something, yes. We won’t be doing any traveling ourselves for a while.

Jack: Cool, thanks...

[From another pocket, he pulls out a grape flavored Xelpop and plops it in his mouth.]

Jack: . . .

Jack: Soooo, that little floaty guy that just kinda...popped up from outta nowhere...

Jack: No offense, but what IS he?

Piers: Ah, that is a Djinn. Specifically, he’s a Mercury Djinn. They are manifestations of the elemental energy of Weyard, which is the world I hail from.

Jack: .....

Jack: Oooooooh...

[OK, this guy was from some other world--made a little sense to him, at least, since Miss Eight was from another world too--just some OTHER version of his own.

...It was still so strange, though. Things were like that ever since the holes to other worlds popped up around last year...]

Jack: (Weyard...sounds like some place in a book or something...)

Piers: We’ll be able to tell you more after your return. Are you traveling far?

Jack: --Well, THAT...depends...

Jack: (Depends where Miss Eight and her brother are gonna be squaring off, if they do...)

Jack: I--I'm just gonna go grab some stuff I left back home before I try and lay low for a while. Til' this all blows over.

[Yup. That was TOTALLY his plan.]

[Piers gave a soft snort.]

Piers: Jack, I am not going to try to stop you.

[He seemed more amused than anything else.]

Piers: Though your determination not to be derailed is both familiar and admirable, in its own way.

Jack: ....

Jack: Was it REALLY that obvious...?

[Jeez, he thought he was a better liar than that.]

Jack: ......

Piers: I’m a lot older than I look. -Amused-

[The Djinn came floating back. It was carrying what appeared to be a traveler’s backpack (of sorts) and a small present.

It set both of these down on the ground in front of the sheepish CDN.]

Jack: ......! (Little guy is stronger than he looks...) Thanks....

Jack: ...What's in the bag? -Proceeds to pick it up-

Piers: Traveling supplies. Mostly related to sleeping, though there’s a canteen and some medical supplies in there. I think the present is something Felix put together with the help of other people… possibly little David Cossack. Such a kind child, that one.

Jack: ....!

[The first thing he notices is the...wow there is a WHOLE lot more room in here than what it looks like on the outside—how is that even physically possible.]

Jack: ....

[He proceeds to stuff the cooler in it because NO WAY was he going to drag that thing the whole way.]

Jack: Kay--here's the poncho...bandages...sleeping stuff...

Jack: Aaaand let's see what's in the OTHER thing--

Jack: --!

Jack: AW SWEET COOL GOGGLES. Dude--

[He IMMEDIATELY puts those on--they fit rather nicely once he adjusted the strap--]

Jack: ...? What's this--

Jack: --! OoooooOOHOHO THIS THING HAS NIGHT VISION--

Jack:(I feel so damn BADASS--)

Piers: Ah, those must be from David, then! (My, a good bit of foresight.) He likes exploring.

————————

"I wanna be an explorer. Do you like exploring, Mister Jack?”

“Uh. Yeah--”

————————

Jack: -WHAT OTHER NEAT STUFF IS IN HERE-

[Some of the stuff was OBVIOUSLY from Carmen.

They were more… practically oriented, like a flashlight, some cash, a burner phone…

…A… taser?!]

[...Jack...]

[....starts to laugh.]

Jack: Oh, jeez, Miss Eight--you shouldn't have.

Piers: ? ? ? -Clearly confused- (What is /that/? I think that one item is a “phone”, but that last one… I don’t know if I’ve seen that before…)

[Jack decides to test out the taser by simply pressing the button--away from Piers and himself, of course.]

Jack: She's got a thing with tasing stuff--probably comes from her sis....

[THAT gets pocketed. He didn't know what kind of crazy stuff he'll run into out there.]

Piers: -OH okay, it has a Jupiter-based attack stored in it, right then-

[There appeared to be… one more item inside.]

Jack: ....?

[....What the... a ring? ]

Piers: -Looks QUITE surprised- So that’s where it went.

[He is suddenly very thoughtful.]

Piers: He must have seen that you would need it, and had it set aside for you to give to you…

Jack: ? You know what this is?

Piers: Yes. That’s a Cleric’s Ring: a rare artifact that prevents loss of control of your person.

Jack: .......

Jack: You mean-- this thing will protect me from the virus?!

[It takes a moment for him to understand that Jack was talking about the sickness that had overtaken the Mighty Numbers, but then he nods.]

Piers: Yes, that is exactly the idea. It only protects the wearer, however; it does not have an area of effect or the ability to be used as a healing talisman.

Jack: ...So it's just for me. Got it...

[Jack takes a few seconds to inspect the ring a little before putting it on. It fit perfectly.]

Jack: Wow...feels weird...

[...But in a good way.]

Jack: .....

[He lifts up the goggles so that they rested upon his head, and put the rest of his presents in the knapsack--which he slung over his shoulder.]

[...He REALLY felt like he was about to embark on some important journey, now that he thought about it...]

[...Probably because he really was.]

Jack: ...-Exhales-

Piers: Godspeed on your journey, my friend. Return home safely upon its completion—and may that be soon.

Jack: Thanks, Captain. Thanks for everything.

[He turns away, eyes set on the horizon, rain clouds already starting to form over the distant, war-torn city of Seattle.]

Jack: ....Godspeed...yeah...

Jack: (I'm gonna need all the luck in the world for this...)

[In an instant, he starts to sprint off. Might as well get a head start and run for it...!]

Jack: (Just a little further, Carmen...! I'm almost there...!)

Jack: (Just hold on until then...!)

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

Allies Obstruct

=INTRO A: COLLAPSING PEACE=

((Courtesy of @codedhopes & @super-tired-robot))

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

Keep reading

=CHAPTER 1A: RAGING FLAMES SMOLDER=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

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

{MEANWHILE, BACK IN SANDA LABS....}

[After confirming there was nothing they could do to help Tobias and the rest of those in the Meadow… Beck, Soichiro, William, and Call did a thorough search of the lower levels of the building Soi was sealed in. To their surprise, they had found a couple of uninfected Patch bots that were busy recharging their energy--their systems also had to be shut down to do so.]

Sunny: D: -BEEP BEEP I AM SCARED WHAT IS HAPPENING WHY ARE THERE EXPLODING NOISES -

Beck: Sunny! :D -shhhh it's OK everything is fine—or will be—-

Will: (Interesting…. These Patches are also fine, like Call…)

[Meanwhile, Call had moved her usual terminal to the lab. She began bringing back the labs systems—one by one—with her father.]

Soi: If we can just get this one back up, we can start looking for the rest of the Mighties...

[Beck perked up from his spot on the floor, a bit busy consoling about six or seven different colored Patches.]

Beck: How are we gonna do that?

[Will frowned and put his hand to his chin, thinking.]

Will: Hmm...

Soi: ...! Ah! That should do it—for now, at least. At any rate: the lab is all set for any repairs Beck and the others might need.

Will: Good, good...

Will: . . .

Will: We can still read most of their statuses, yes?

Soi: Hmm, yes...

Will: Can we trace back their transponders?

Soi: We can give it a try, but with Tobias messing around with the signals...

Call: Tracing...

[A map of the US comes up.]

[There’s a brief moment where everything seemed to be functioning normally, a radar-like display sweeping across the map in search of any sort of response.]

Call: ... ....

Call: Transponder found.

Will: —!!! Whose?

[A marker appeared right smack in the middle of the State of Louisiana.]

[A symbol. Pyrogen's, to be specific.]

Beck: ! Big Brother...!

[Suddenly, there was a glitchy sound effect. The map flickered, and an error message popped up on the screen. Unfortunately, the message looked garbled as well.]

Beck: ! What happened?

Call: There appears to be interference.

Beck: Is it the virus?!

Call: Negative.

Will: Hmmm… that looks like it might be bits of code….

Beck: Huh…? What does it say?

Will: Well, I recognize the error message well enough: it’s the same as from earlier. It could be related to what just happened with Tobias…

Beck: But…

Beck: Why would he want to stop us from saving them…? D:

Soi: Can we get around it, do you think?

Will: Probably, especially considering the state he was in…. It may take a while, though.

Soi: Oh dear…

Will: Call, did you catch the location before it vanished?

Call: Affirmative, Doctor.

Call: Comparing location to local database....

Call: ... ....

Soi: Well?!

Call: ....

Call: It appears that Mighty No. 1 has retreated to an oil refinery.

Will: An OIL--?!

Soi: Good God--He's going to blow it all up to kingdom come--!

Will: Quickly--there is no time to waste! Beck, Call, prepare yourselves for the mission--! Sanda, find another signal frequency for Xel Transfer; something we don't use as often so that Avi won't pick it up if he wakes up first--! I'll set up encryptions from my own terminal to hide it from him in the meantime!

Beck: Yes sir!

Call: Affirmative.

Soi: You got it, Will.

Beck: (Don't worry, big brother...)

Beck: (I'm coming to save you...!)

[COORDINATES SET.]

"... Beck..."

"Yeah?"

"...Please...please be careful. Please."

"I know, Dad."

"We're all counting on you, Beck--promise me you'll come back in one piece for your uncle, eh?"

"I promise, Sanda."

"Good luck, No. 9. Now preparing Xel Transfer..."

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"...I love you."

"...I love you too, Beck...pass that on to Pyrogen for me..!"

[XELS TRANSFERRING...]

[MISSION DETAILS: MIGHTY NO. 1, CODENAME: PYROGEN, HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN A LOUISIANA OIL REFINERY. STATUS: INFECTED WITH HARMFUL MALWARE, FULL COMBAT MODE ENGAGED.]

[OBJECTIVES: RESCUE MN.1 AND PURGE HARMFUL MALWARE FROM SYSTEMS, PREVENT A LARGE-SCALE INFERNO. ]

[SYSTEMS READY?]

[GO!]

[Once Beck had fully reconstituted, Xels clicking into place as his form settled, the first thing that he felt was the heat.]

[The second was the smoke filling the air, and the third was the distant sound of crazed, infected robots just up ahead--Pyrogen was not the only one given free range of the place. Many industrial, non-sentient CherryDyn and Sanda models were running rampant...]

[Beck's comm line crackled to life.]

[CALL] //: No. 9, do you read?

[Beck lifted a hand to the side of his helmet.]

Beck: This is Nine--I read you loud and clear! I've made it to the Oil Platform...

[He pauses.]

Beck: No sign of One yet, and the place is just… it's chaos...

[Soon enough, Soi could be heard over the line as well, along with Will.]

[DR.SANDA] //: A fire wielding robot running wild in an oil refinery...I don't like the looks of this at all.

[DR.WHITE] //: Not exactly ideal conditions, I'll grant you that...

[DR.WHITE] //: Quickly now, Beck--Locate Mighty No. 1!

Beck: On it!

[Beck sprints forward...]

[...And slips.]

Beck: Whoa-!

[CLANK.]

Beck: --Ow--

[CALL] //: It appears No. 9 has encountered an oil spill. From my scans, several major pipelines of the refinery have burst.

Beck: That...would have been helpful two seconds ago...

[DR.SANDA] //: Shake it off, Beck! And be careful if the other robots in the area set it on fire--!

Beck: -Slowly picks himself up- Got it....

[VERRRRRRRRR--]

Beck: --!!!

[CALL] //: Incoming hostile robots.

[It was a forklifting robot--carrying a crate full of explosives, no less! And once it saw the young Mighty Number, it wasted no time revving it's engine and charging at full speed--!]

Beck: aHHH--

[Beck didn't roll out of the way--he jumped, and let the robot pass under him.]

[MN.9 HAS GONE INTO COMBAT MODE.]

[He shoots, and once the robot's Xel Structure was disrupted, stunning it in place, he AcXelarates into it in a flash of white--absorbing its Xel and leaving behind only it's cores.]

[XEL ABSORBED. ABSORPTION BOOST: ONLINE.]

[A green sheen of Xel encircles Beck--the same feeling of power flows through him like before--but this time was...different...]

Beck: ....?

[LAST time, the color was RED, wasn't it...?]

[CALL] //: Warning, multiple incoming CherryDyn robots detected.

Beck: Uh oh—

[Yes, now there was more--in addition to several furnace type robots that shot fire balls out of their tops, and other flame based models.]

[DR.SANDA] //: There are so many fire based robots! WHY ARE THEY ALL HERE?!

[DR.WHITE] //: Good question...perhaps Pyrogen led them here...?

[...As Beck transverses forward, he seems much quicker in this powered up state...]

[...But soon enough, the green Xel fades, and he returns to his normal speed.]

Beck: ...?

[THIS happened last time too--whenever he got one of those...absorption boosts, he got a little stronger somehow...so green makes him a little faster...?]

Beck: (Huh...when I saved the Round Digger, he turned purple---these guys either turn red, blue, yellow, or green...)

Beck: (If green makes me faster, then what does the rest do?)

[He decided to take a moment to figure it out--there were plenty of enemies to absorb, and certain models turned into one of those colors.]

Beck: (OK...Green makes my reflexes faster...)

Beck: (Red boosts my shot output--I can even shoot through certain walls for a while...)

Beck: (Yellow makes me jump higher...)

Beck: (...And blue...)

[XEL ABSORBED. CONVERTING...]

Beck: Huh?

[XEL STOCK 1 FULL.]

Beck: (Xel Stock? I can STORE extra Xel?!)

Beck: (Oh man--I can use that to repair myself on the fly! At least minor injuries...)

[Then--Suddenly--!]

[A familiar figure stands out against the clouded night...]

Pyro: Rrrrr.....

Beck: PYRO!!

[The Mighty Leader was standing atop of a ruined oil truck, surprisingly unlit...]

[Green eyes flickered towards his brother--]

Pyro: ... ...

Pyro: ...You...

Beck: --! YES! It's me, big brother--It's Beck! You remember!

Pyro: ...BURN....

Beck: !!!

Pyro: THE WORLD MUST—

[In a sudden fierce motion, Pyrogen quite literally EXPLODED into flames, becoming twice his own size as he HOWLED into the flame lit horizon overhead!]

Pyro: BUUUUUUUURRRRRRN!

[...However...]

[...Instead of attacking Beck...]

[He...leaps away?]

Beck: PYRO, WAIT!

[Beck, after recovering from the sheer, uncontrolled rage his eldest brother had just unleashed, dashed forward to give chase--]

[CALL] //: Warning: Multiple incoming robots detected.

Beck: Wha--where?!

[SECONDS later, more furnace type robots materialized, as well as a whole SLEW of enemies--both that were from the city AND the fire based models! It was an ambush!]

[DR.WHITE] //: Beck!

Beck: NGH--!!

[He was trapped on all sides, and with nowhere to hide, he was pelted with enemy fire-- both of energy shots and actual real fire. ]

[DR.SANDA] //: MOVE, BECK!

[He's faced Pyro in battle before--in spars. He can handle a little heat, but this--]

Beck: HothothotHOT--

[There was nowhere to go--nowhere but UP, that is...]

[In the midst of quite literally being roasted over an open flame, Beck had to JUMP to avoid the heat from damaging anything important.]

[...REALLY jump.]

Beck: aaaAAAAAAAH--

[Fortunately, gravity and trajectory was kind enough to drop him atop of one of the flying enemies--who was none too pleased to have an extra passenger onboard.]

[CALL] //: .........

[CALL] //: Inquiry: Why do these kinds of events seem to always happen to No. 9?

[DR.SANDA] //: I...don't know...

Beck: Nice CDN GOOD CDN PLEASE DON'T--

[Too late--Beck was now on a VERY wild rodeo ride with the cargo carrying robot, trying to shake him off by flying erratically--and into other robots.]

Beck: -SCREAMING-

[DR.WHITE] //: Hold on, Beck!

Beck: WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING--?!

[CALL] //: Beck, you have a acquired a higher vantage point. I suggest using this to your advantage.

Beck: I WOULD IF THIS GUY WOULD HOLD STILL FOR TWO--

[VERRRRRRR--]

Beck: --AwNO--

[B O O M!]

[The flying CDN had collided with another forklifting robot--which was carrying another crate filled with explosives. The resulting explosion lit up the evening, temporarily obscuring all with the smoke that rose from it.]

[......]

[MN.9 STATUS: ONLINE, COMBAT MODE ENGAGED, DAMAGE REPORT: GYRO BALANCERS CRITICAL, ARMOR PLATING HAS BEEN BREACHED.]

Beck: .....uuuuugh....

[DR.WHITE] //: Beck! Do you read me?! SAY SOMETHING!

Beck: ....hurts...ow....can't....

[CALL] //: No. 9's Gryo systems have been damaged. His mobile systems are shot.

[DR.SANDA] //: --That's it--I'm pulling him out of there! This is way too-

[DR.WHITE] //: Wait!

[DR.WHITE] //: Beck--there is another ability that I designed you with! Can you access your Xel Stocks?

Beck: nnngh...

[USE XEL STOCK 1?]

[COMMAND//: YES.]

[ACCESSING INTERNAL XEL STORAGE...]

[A relieving burst of light blue light seemed to pour out of the ports on Beck's back, wrapping him up in a healing sheen. The cracks on his armor were being sealed, while most of the Xel was released internally...]

Beck: --!!!!

[SELF REPAIR COMPLETE. ALL SYSTEMS NORMAL.]

[Beck shot STRAIGHT up into a sitting position with a small gasp, feeling reinvigorated--renewed, even! He was thrown into alertness, looking around this way and that...]

[...It seemed the resulting explosion from the CDN crashing into the forklift robot had cleared away the rest of the ambush. Place was a MESS, however--some of the oil piping had burst as well, and it's flammable contents were now spilling forth EVERYWHERE.]

[...Beck was not spared from it--he was more or less splattered with oil now, tainting his pristine white armor.]

Beck: Ew...!

[DR.WHITE] //: -SIGHS WITH RELIEF-

[DR.SANDA] //: No time for a bath now, Beck--you gotta keep moving!

Beck: ...Right... (Wouldn't mind one from Cryo right about now...)

[DR.SANDA] //: My...did you SEE all those bots? And such power...

[DR.SANDA] //: ...These designs of yours in our models are something ELSE, Will...

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

[DR.WHITE] //: Yes, well, under the circumstances--that hardly feels like a compliment. -_-;;

[Beck only had one way to go, and that was forward...]

[...Over a flaming floor of burning oil, that is--and above?]

Beck: .....

Beck: Are those electrified spikes.

[CALL] //: Warning: It is not just electricity, but energized signals on the ceiling. They have been modified to disrupt Xel Structures. Proceed with caution.

Beck: Wait wait wait--

Beck: Are you saying that if I touch it I'LL JUST EXPLODE.

[CALL] //: That is correct, No. 9. Your core, however, would be intact, although--

[DR.WHITE] //: I--I think he understands the concept, Call.

Beck: Right--don't touch the purple things, don't touch the purple things--

[Dashing across the suspended platforms was the only way across--along with absorbing other robots along the way. Using the green Absorption Speed Boost he acquired from them, he was able to quickly get by the hair-raising corridor...]

[...And into the Oil Silo field.]

Beck: I still don't see Pyrogen yet...

[DR.SANDA] //: He must be somewhere up ahead, he couldn't have gone that far...

[No. 9 was really starting to get the hang of his AcXelarate Dash--it was almost becoming second nature, actually. He could use it as often as he wanted--there seemed to be no limit, and it didn't expend any of his energy at all.]

[Which was a very good thing for what came up next.]

[C R A C K L E.]

Beck: --?!

[DR.SANDA] //: BECK! LOOK OUT!

[The lower half of the Silo in front of him was damaged--and began to topple over directly overhead.]

Beck: WHOA--

[Beck immediately started to floor it, becoming merely a white blur among the grey of smoke--the Silo crashed behind him with a loud rumble, missing him by only mere inches.]

[CALL] //: Heat has compromised the integrity of near by structures. Please proceed with caution.

Beck: NO OFFENSE, CALL, BUT I'VE BEEN CAUTIOUS THIS WHOLE TIME--

[C R A C K! C R A C K!]

[DR.WHITE] //: BECK--IN FRONT!

[...It was sort of like watching some supped up version of dominoes.

The silos were perfectly aligned in such a way that they toppled over in Beck's path, forcing him to sprint and dash for his life. The malfunctioning robots around him didn't seem to care--they were only concerned on destroying the Mighty Number--so they retaliated by shooting up fireballs into the air to rain down from above.]

[And if that wasn't enough, the floor beneath began to give away under his feet--no, the PLATFORMS were.]

[DR.WHITE] //: DON'T STOP!

Beck: AAAAAAAAAAAAA--

[It seemed like an eternity. It was, in fact, about 20 seconds, but those nail biting seconds seemed to stretch into forever as Beck barreled forth without pause, destruction and fire raging around him, smoke stinging his eyes and throat.--]

Beck: WHAT THE--

[The path suddenly ended.]

[DR.WHITE] //: NO--!

[It just--ended. There was only a sudden drop into a pit of fire, an inferno flaring so high, it was impossible to tell if there was anything on the other side.]

[But he had no choice.]

[He had to jump.]

Beck: HUP--!

[Out of the frying pan...]

[ACXELARATE DASH: MAX OUTPUT REACHED]

[And into the fire.]

[DATA LOSS.]

Will: Call--!!!

Call: Searching...

Call: ..........

[.........]

[..........….............]

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

[SIGNAL FOUND. MN.9 STATUS: ONLINE.]

Will: YES...!

Call: Re-syncing feeds...

"--can't get a good grip on--!!"

[--Beck had made it!]

[...But only barely. He was grabbing onto the ledge with everything he had, trying to hoist himself up--but the oil wasn't making things any easier.]

Beck: Arrgh--

[FINALLY, his feet find some perchance, and he pushed off of the wall--and front flipped over, landing firmly and safely on the other side of the pit.

It looks as if some of that acrobatics training paid off--]

Beck: (--! Hey--I did it! I DID IT, BRAND—!)

[....Too bad said brother in question wasn't here to see it.]

Beck: (--…Oh…. Right…)

Will: --......!

Soi: ? Will?

Will: I have an idea--Can we send one of the Patch bots to his location?

Soi: --But--whatever for?

Will: I want him to be in the BEST condition possible before he faces No. 1...

[Will's green hues stare intensely at the screen, at his son.]

Will: Pyrogen, while not being made with the latest Xel technology, has the most experience out of them all. If they ARE to battle...

Will: He's going to need all the help we can offer.

Will: We can send a Patch Bot with some Xel Storage Cubes for him to either store into his Xel Stocks or use right then and there for self repair.

Sunny: -BEEP BEEP- (-_-)7

Call: Commencing Xel Transfer....

[XEL TRANSFER COMPLETE.]

[Beck almost very nearly shot Sunny in her display--but lucky her unique coloring was enough for him to recognize the Patch Bot.]

Beck: Sunny?!

Sunny: -BEEP BEEP-

[Sunny's stomach compartment opens, and out tumbles several Xel Storage Cubes ready to be absorbed.]

Beck: !

[DR.WHITE] //: Beck, these should give you enough to normalize your Xel Count. Call has confirmed that No. 1 is in that destroyed building wreckage ahead...

Beck: ... ...

[No. 9 takes a deep breath...]

Beck: (OK, Pyro...here I come...)

[After dropping down to a partially collapsed room...]

[Once again—standing atop of a pile of debris—was the fire-powered leader himself.]

Beck: Pyro--! Finally...

Pyro: Hnrrrrrr...

Beck: Pyro--come on, big brother-- I KNOW you're in there SOMEWHERE! We don't have to--

Pyro: You...

Pyro: ...Why....?

Beck: ...!!

Beck: Because you're my BROTHER! I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU, NO. 1!

Pyro: .....

Beck: Just--PLEASE hold still for just a few minutes and I SWEAR I can fix this--I can SAVE you!

[With dark, glowing emerald eyes, the leader stood. Unflinching.]

Pyro: ...

Pyro: No...

Beck: Pyro--!

Pyro: Why...

Pyro: Why you not burn...?

Beck: Wha--?

Pyro: WHY YOU NOT BURN?!

Beck: PYRO--

Pyro: WHY... YOU... NOT--

[FOOOOM!]

Pyro: BUUUUUUUURRRRRRNNN?!?!?!?

[As Pyrogen fully ignites his body in flames, HUGE pillars of fire explode on either side of the room--effectively trapping both Mighty Numbers within.

Almost as if this was to be a cage match...]

Beck: Uh-oh...

Pyro: Burn...

Pyro: The world must BURN...! ALL MUST BUUUURN!!!

[MN.1 HAS ENTERED FULL COMBAT MODE. RESTRICTIONS: NONE.]

Beck: NO--!

[SCANNING...]

[SCAN COMPLETE.]

[ E N C O U N T E R ]

[MIGHTY NO. 1-- MODEL CODENAME: PYROGEN]

[HEIGHT: 223cm] [WEIGHT: 236kg] [XEL COUNT: 47,200,000]

Pyro: PYRO CRASH, AND YOU...BUUUUUUUUURRRN!

[Pyrogen was a close range combat model, excelling in melee-style combat.

[He wasted no more time with any more words. A distorted yell of RAGE accompanied his first attack--a headlong, full bodied tackle!]

Beck: Gh--!

[Jumping over was the logical choice--]

Beck: AAAH--!

[...But not the best one, as Pyrogen ALSO left a trail of arching fire in his wake. Beck had jumped RIGHT into them, sustaining burns across his armor plating.]

Pyro: Yes--BURN! BURN LIKE THE REST! B U R N!!

[Flaring, No. 1 changed direction--his arms ignited to TWICE their original output, allowing him to gather his flames up for another attack.]

Pyro: BURN M O R E!

[He thrusted his arms forward--and a burst of fire shot out, threatening to engulf Beck in it's hellish range!]

Beck: PYRO--STOP IT!

[The youngest Mighty had no time wince at pain--he forced himself to roll away, the blaring heat reminding him to be weary of the fire walls that soared to the sky.]

[His default weapon was drawn--but he had not fired yet.]

Beck: I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU, PYRO!

Beck: PLEASE! S N A P OUT OF IT—!

[DR.WHITE] //: It's no USE, Beck!

Beck: --!? Dad?!

[DR.WHITE] //: HE IS TOO FAR GONE!

[DR.WHITE] //: You have to stop him by FORCE--!

[DR.WHITE] //: ONLY THEN CAN HE BE SAVED!

Beck: .....

Pyro: B U R N, MOTH! B U R N!!

Beck: . . .

[MN.9 HAS ENTERED FULL COMBAT MODE. RESTRICTION: PRESERVE MN.1]

Beck: I'm sorry, Pyro...

Beck: But if I have to do this to get you back...!

[BLAM!]

Pyro: —?!?

[Bright orange dematerializing shots pierce through the flames--nailing Pyro right in the chest, who seems VERY confused as to what just happened--]

[—...But the confusion didn't last. It quickly bled away to anger.]

Pyro: RAAAAAAAAAAAGH--!

[CALL] //: Warning: I detect a buildup of energy from Mighty No. 1.

Beck: Energy--?

[FWOOOOOM!]

[Pyrogen's flames...changed color. They were no longer just a bright yellow and orange.]

[They were purple. A sick, sick shade of purple and blue.]

Beck: —????!?

[And that's when it hit him.]

[He's SEEN this before.]

[The Greater Dusk team--at the Queen's Tournament--Bladeblaster--!!]

Pyro: BURNING... BURNIIIING...

[DR.SANDA] //: -ACTUALLY SCREAMS-

Beck: --!!!!! (Nowhere to HIDE—!!! GOTTA THINK FAST--)

Beck: Ah—!

[ACCESSING XEL STOCK 2...]

Pyro: SPIRIT!

[B O O O M!]

[DATA LOSS]

Soi: oh GOD WHAT HAPPENED WHAT HAPPENED--?!?!

Call: ... ...Mighty No. 9's signal has vanished--as has Mighty No. 1's. The likelihood of their transponders ceasing to transmit due to excessive heat damage is--

Will: PLEASE, Call--! No more of that--ARE THEY ALIVE?!

Pyro: Hah...hah...

Pyro: ... ... ...

[There was no sign of Beck at all...]

Pyro: ... ... ... ...

Pyro: Yes...YES! LIKE A MOTH TO THE FLAME—!!

[Victory was his. A familiar feeling--he couldn't place why, but it FELT good--]

[So good that he started to laugh, distorted chortles reverbing around the Oil Platform...]

[There was nothing but the crackle of fire...and screams...]

[.....]

[… … …]

[Wait.]

[All the humans had fled.]

[So WHY--]

"........aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAH--!"

Pyro: WHAT—?!

[C L A N K!]

Beck: NOT DONE YET--!

[Seemingly dropping down from NOWHERE, Beck landed on his elder's back--forcing him to buckle from the force of the fall and the added weight--]

[BLAM!]

[XEL ABSORBED.]

Pyro: RRAA—ACK—!!

[Flames attempted to flare on his back--they licked at Beck's form, scorching his armor black.]

[The pain--it was almost unlike anything he's ever felt before.]

[The only thing that came close...was...]

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Yes...! That's it, my better incarnation--FIGHT LIKE YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE!~"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Beck gritted his teeth.]

[He couldn't let go--can't, not for anything, ANYTHING!]

"Remember. Beck--Physical pain....is MENTAL. In the arena, you will learn how to push PAST it."

[BLAM.]

[XEL ABSORBED.]

"But--Big Brother--"

[BLAM.]

[XEL ABSORBED.]

"What if it hurts too much...?"

"One of these days, Beck--how much physical pain you feel won't matter in dire situations."

"Are you going to let a few deep scratches come between you and what you care about the most?"

[BLAM.]

[XEL ABSORBED.]

[XEL QUOTA REACHED.]

"N-No, sir, No. 1!"

"Good!"

[XEL PURGE: ONLINE. XELFILTER.EXE PREPARED FOR OVERDRIVE.]

"Now--Show your big brother what you can DO!"

Beck: COME ON, PYRO--!

[XEL PURGE INITIATED!]

Beck: WE NEED OUR LEADER BACK!!!

[FILTERING.....]

[A blinding flash of green surrounds the two, expelling all of the infected purple Xel in Pyro's frame, running it THROUGH Beck himself, who expelled it right back at One, returning the Xel back to it's rightful owner.]

Pyro: —!!!!

[The Mighty Leader stood rigid, frozen in place as the Xel was simultaneously pulled and put back into him--with little to no pain whatsoever. ]

[In fact...]

[It felt...warm...]

"..........I can see you, you know."

"Eep--!!"

"Now, now, don't be frightened--you have nothing to fear, Beck. Not in this place."

"But...you...and everything else...is so...so much bigger than me..."

"Heh..."

"Good things come in small packages."

[......Small....]

"TRY AND CATCH ME, NO. 1!"

Pyro: ........

Pyro: B...Beck...

[THUNK.]

[His knees give away.]

[FILTERING COMPLETE.]

[ALL HARMFUL MALWARE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM MN.1]

Pyro: Is that....you...?

[There is only harsh breathing in his ear--but...]

Beck: ....

Beck: B...Big...Brother...

Beck: Pyro...I...you're OK...

Pyro: I...what...where...?

[-PING!-]

[CALL] //: Connection reestablished. Mighty Numbers 1 and 9 are online.

[DR.WHITE] //: Beck--! Beck--are you--

Pyro: ....F...Father...?

[.....]

[DR.WHITE] //: S...Son...?

Pyro: Father--...what...what happened? I...don't....remember...

[DR.SANDA] //: He...WILL-- WILL HE DID IT HE DID IT--!!

[DR.WHITE] //: Pyrogen...! You're...alright...!

Pyro: Not--...not exactly...Ngh...

Pyro: I....

[SCANNING...]

Pyro: ......????

Pyro: Beck--What...why do I smell...oil?

Beck: Long... long story, bro...ohmanI'msotired...

Pyro: You're...? I...I don't understand--

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

[DR.WHITE] //: Call...prepare for Xel Transfer. Pyro...

[DR.WHITE] //: Everything will be fine, son...I promise. I'll explain it when you're well rested enough.

Pyro: ........

[CALL] //: Xel Transfer in progress...

{SANDA ENTERPRISES, LOWER LABS...}

[Will never thought he would be so close to having a heart attack at the age of 25, and today had been eventful enough to garner that reaction on more than one occasion.]

[But the feeling of relief he felt when he saw his eldest carrying his youngest on his back...]

Call: Xel Transfer complete. I suggest not drawing too close to No. 1--he is still radiating fairly high temperatures.

Soi: Hoooof--it DID just jump a couple of degrees in here, didn't it...

Beck: Uuuuuugh I've never been so TIRED can I take a nap...

[Beck was certainly quite talkative in his complaining...

...But Pyrogen remained silent....]

Pyro: . . . .

[Beck slowly climbs down from Pyrogen--he feels QUITE strange at the moment, as if his systems were preoccupied with something else, and leans against his brother for support.]

Will: ....

Pyro: Father...

Pyro: ...Beck has burns. All over.

Beck: . . .

Pyro: There was OIL.

Will: Son--

Pyro: What happened to us...?!

Will: ......

[Will tries to collect his thoughts--how will he tell him--how will he--]

Pyro: Where is Cryo? We NEED to cool him off--

Call: Mighty No. 2's location is unknown. As are the rest of the Mighty Numbers.

Pyro: —?! WHAT?!

Call: I will now connect you back to our systems. Standby.

Pyro: Nnngh—!

[He did his best to hold still and do as he was told, but it was clear that this wasn't helping matters.]

[RE-CONNECTING...]

Will: … … …

[Unfortunately…]

[CONNECTION ESTABLISHED. UPDATING....]

Pyro: … … … …

[RECEIVING RECENT STATUS REPORTS...]

[…There wasn't anything immediately current, and what last info they had was not exactly good news to share.]

[MN.1 STATUS: ONLINE, COMBAT MODE, CONDITION: NORMAL.]

[MN.2 STATUS: ONLINE, FULL COMBAT MODE, -VIRUS DETECTED-]

[MN.3 STATUS: ONLINE, FULL COMBAT MODE, -VIRUS DETECTED-]

[MN.4 STATUS: UNAVAILABLE.]

[MN.5 STATUS: ONLINE, FULL COMBAT MODE, -VIRUS DETECTED-]

[MN.6 STATUS: STANDBY, FULL COMBAT MODE, -VIRUS DETECTED, DATA CORRUPTED-]

[MN.7 STATUS: ONLINE, FULL COMBAT MODE, -VIRUS DETECTED-]

[MN.8 STATUS: UNAVAILABLE.]

[MN.9 STATUS: ONLINE, COMBAT MODE, CONDITION: NORMAL.]

Pyro: NO--

Pyro: NO!

Pyro: OUR FAMILY—!!

[Pyrogen attempts to stand--but his damaged frame does not quite agree with him.]

Pyro: Ngh--!!

Beck: Bro--bro, don't strain yourself--

[-PING!-]

Beck: —!!!!

[FORM DATA ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]

[XEL TRANSFORMATION ENGAGED.]

[Beck's Xels suddenly start to re-arrange themselves, glowing with a bright white light...!]

[NEW FORM SET.]

[REXELECTION: PYROGEN.]

Pyro: …!!!

Pyro: Beck…?

Beck: … … …

Beck: Big brother…

Beck: I… need to explain some things…

-PING!-

<RMDC>: >REQUEST FAILED. DISPLAYING PREVIOUS STATUS UPDATE…

>FMN-008 STATUS: UNAVAILABLE

>DCN-008 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>DCN-007 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>DCN-003 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>DCN-000 STATUS: DEFENSIVE COMBAT MODE

Pyro: What--

Pyro: Lethal Mode--?!

>Loading…

>DWN-024 STATUS: OFFLINE

>DWN-019 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>DWN-018 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>DWN-013 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>DWN-012 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>DWN-011 STATUS: LETHAL COMBAT MODE

>Loading…

Pyro: Why...WHY ARE THEY ALL...?!

[Indeed… other than Shadow, most of the line was in Lethal.

…

…With two POIGNANTLY notable exceptions.]

>DLN-008 STATUS: OFFLINE— CRITICAL AI_OS DATA ERROR

>ERROR: DLN-000 SIGNAL NOT FOUND.

Pyro: Shadow--Toby--CARDINAL--?!

Beck: Pyro--

Call: I suggest updating MN.1's memory files with Beck's own.

Pyro: (What...what...)

Pyro: (What sick, twisted darkness has befallen us?!)

Will: .....

Will: Sanda...prep the lab.

Will: Beck--help your brother. There is much to go over...

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

=BONUS CONTENT: BONUS SCENE #5=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

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

((Incomplete prewriting: Cardinal and Countershade reconcile))

[When Shade entered the room, he found it painfully quiet.

Soft beeping and humming noises from the machinery were the only signs of life: like markings on a scratchboard, little more than symbols of what should be vibrant and full of noise.

It was quiet. So much quieter than the hustle and hubbub of the fancy party he had just slipped away from.

Almost as quiet as the fringes of nightmares that would not leave him be.]

Shade: …

[There were curtains drawn up, likely to give some privacy to the poor soul who rested there. But these sheets of fabric and plastic may as well have been sheer cliff walls of concrete and iron, for how ominous—nay, menacing—they seemed.]

((More reaction, thoughts))

[He wanted to step in, but at the same time… couldn’t bear it. Couldn’t bear to face…]

((Flashback, reaction))

[His staggering made a lot of noise, and there was a loud clatter as he fell back, unable to break his fall due to lacking a hand to support himself. The room suddenly seemed to come alive at this, lights springing on and readings flashing across the screens. But most shattering of all was a single noise: ]

PING!

((Reaction))

[Cardinal’s data seemed to permeate the room. It was muddled, dazed: blank as an absent mind, fragile as an empty dream…. So gentle for a Combat ‘bot. So peaceful for a warring machine.

So vulnerable for a contingency mastermind.

So… helpless for a hero, equally deadened as serene.]

Shade: (C-Cards…!)

[His heart hurt a hell of a lot more than his pride did at the moment. His best friend was laying there on the other side of that patient veil, and he couldn’t even bear to look in that direction.

He didn’t remember everything, but he knew enough to fill in the missing pieces for the broken picture that lay shattered before him. The fact that no one—absolutely no one, not even his own father—would tell him what had happened or what state Cardinal was in… that was telling in and of itself.

If the songbird were just tired, that would be one thing. He would have been startled awake, running on adrenaline—probably shooting a blast of plasma cannon fire through the curtain out of alarm at the noise. He had just been engaged in a Lethal Combat Mode the last time he had been Online, after all… so if he’d been “alright” (as if anyone could be fine after what had happened to them…!), he would have been wound up tighter than a bobcat.

If the rebel had been injured, that would have been another thing. He knew the prototype all too well: it was a running gag at how poorly he tended to himself: how he overworked himself, pushed himself too far. Even a serious injury should have been healed up (for a patchwork job, at least) no problem, with all the resources they had. Such a thing wouldn’t have kept him caged, wouldn’t have held him down to the point where he’d sit still obediently while other people partied. If that were all, then he would have been there at the ceremony earlier that day.

Instead…]

((Comfort/concern))

[He wasn’t sure he could take this. His best friend was laying there, just… blank. He’d never, ever seen him like that before. He’d seen Cardinal spaced out, alright, but this was much, much worse—]

<DLN-000 is now Online.>

Cardinal: -Very weakly- Shade…?

[He sounded so tired. Exhausted. Like he would fall asleep again any second.

And yet…

Such longing, such… hopefulness, contained in that single word. A desire of some kind… to not be alone, but for it to be real—]

Cardinal: Unless this…unless… unless…

Cardinal: Unless this… is dreaming…

<DLN-000 has entered Idle mode.>

[The weariness seemed to overtake him, and he was drifting back into sleep. But… if he was well enough to talk without strain, then… surely he had to be…]

((Self-demeaning thoughts, probably))

[He had to be alright. He had to be.

Shade silently pushed himself up off the ground.]

((Somehow, Shade gets himself to go over to look through the curtain.))

[The view was somewhat obscured, but his visual processors made quick and easy work of the warping effect of the plastic. Cardinal was resting peacefully on the table, with a sheet pulled up like a blanket. It was a clean sheet: no oil or coolant stains on it, which was a good sign.

He gave off very odd readings, not even close to being consistent with what he gave off before. Definitely running off of a different energy source: one which didn’t generate heat at all, but seemed to be diminishing ever so slightly in each moment.]

Shade: ....

Shade: -...this feels like a stupid question at this point but- -Ah' still wanna hear it from you-

Shade: -we...we're still... friends, right...-

Shade: -two of us...-

Cardinal: Mighty Nine Number Eight— Countershade Arthur White—

((Pic—Reconciliation & Brotherhood))

Cardinal: You are still the best man anyone could ask for, the… the best friend I’ve ever known,

Cardinal: One of the bravest and… and enduring people I’ve ever met…

Cardinal: I’m so happy you’re alive,

Cardinal: happy that… that we can still… be friends.

Cardinal: That… that that wasn’t taken from me, that… that I still have you, and your family, in my life.

Shade: ....

[Shade has to rub his eyes a little at that.]

Shade: -Well nao ya gone and done it, ya cheeky bird...-

Shade: Heh...

Shade: -Makin' me cry and everythin', must look damn ridiculous...-

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

=PROLOGUE D: IT ALL BEGINS NOW=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes & @super-tired-robot))

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

[There was the briefest moments of pause as the question sank in.]

[Where was Cardinal, indeed? He had been neither seen nor heard during the entire sequence, never once voicing his opinion or declaring his resolve.

The question Will had asked was heavier than it seemed. For Cardinal was not the sort of man who would sit by in a crisis.]

Mikhail: … You mean he's not with YOU?

[The fact that he was missing…]

Will: HE SPENT THE NIGHT HERE, HE WENT TO THE COLOSSEUM—!

Mikhail: He WHAT?!

[…could only mean that he was currently in grave danger.]

Siam: No…! No no no no no no no—

Will: My God, if he was there when they all—!

Mikhail: He would have gone into the sands, Will!

Mikhail: He would have tried to stop it—!

Will: —My God, you're right—!

Will: Beck—Beck, you were there—do you remember what happened?

Beck: Ghnn...

[Beck shuts his eyes tightly as he struggled to grab anything from his fragmented memories of the match.]

Beck: I...remember...Cards...

Will: —!

Beck: Yelling...yelling at Shade...

Beck: 'Not leaving you behind...'

Beck: Hnn...I'm sorry, that's it...I really can't remember anything else...!

Soi: ohhhNO—

Beck: Cards–!

<RMDC>: >ERROR: DLN-000 SIGNAL NOT FOUND.

[There was no response.]

Siam: WHERE IS HE?!

Mikhail: SHUT DOWN THE TELEPORTERS, NOW!

Mikhail: For all that is good in the world, PLEASE let him be in the lab—!

Will: Beck—

Beck: He’s not answering—!

Soi: -pANIIIIC-

[Nico was hovering by now, eyes glowing in distress.]

Nico: I thought he’d been awfully reserved from his usual commentary—!

Will: He….oh no…he must…he must have…!

[…Nearly all of the Mighty Numbers had been taken by the virus…]

[…Including Countershade.]

Beck: He’s gone after Shade–!

Soi: –IS HE SERIOUS–

Skull: … -With surprising amount of emotion for him- {My God.}

Keltso: -Also with surprising amount of emotion, though it’s clearly more on the “anger” side than the “fear” side- {We should have seen this coming, they’re practically twins.}

Will: … … …

Skull: …

Keltso: -rAEG- {CARDINAL!}

Keltso: {YOU SELFISH BASTARD—!}

Keltso: {WE NEEDED YOU HERE, DAMMIT—}

Digger: -OI, OI, WE DO NOT CALL THE COUSIN WHO SAVED OUR LIVES SUCH NAMES— -

Keltso: {THEY HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING!}

Keltso: THEY’RE GOING TO THINK HE’S AN INFECTED XELBOT, JUST LIKE THE OTHERS—

Keltso: My God, your military is going to KILL HIM!

Will: … … ….

Beck: NO!

Soi: Will, what is Eight’s status?!

Will: … …

Will: I… I don’t know.

[There is dismayed shouting.]

Will: It’s COUNTERSHADE, Soi! I don’t KNOW!

[After a few moments, the feed abruptly cut to the Meadow Lab.

Drawers and equipment lay scattered everywhere, as if the place had been raided.

…Which was an apt description. Not only was Cardinal gone…]

Siam: -Cries out in alarm, rushing over- NO! THE RESEARCH!

[Nico’s system screeched in feedback as they looked in dismay on the empty units.

All the E-Tanks AND the Power Capsules were… gone.

Even the prototypes of the Tanks that Siam had been trying to make.

Cardinal had cleared the place out.]

Mikhail: He took the ENTIRE emergency stock with him—?!

Nico: Has he lost his MIND?!

Keltso: -Hotly- What the glitch does he think he’s DOING?!

Skull: -Eyes burning- He’s going to get himself killed.

Mikhail: My God, we’ve got to get him out of there—

Gemini: I can’t find his signal—!

Will: I have NOTHING on this side either—!

Soi: -sCRAMBLING FOR THE TERMINAL-

Beck: -REPEATEDLY PINGING CARDS, PLEASE ANSWER-

Tobias: I’m going to FIND him!

Beck: But—! But he’s not answering, and his signal—!

Tobias: -Sparking up, eyes starting to glow an aggressive green- You’ll need a REAL communications expert to find that man! Just wait and SEE how it’s—

KKKKKKKKKKKT…

Tobias: !?

“Aaaaaaaand just WHAT do you think you’re doing on MY airwaves, huh?”

Will: !!!

Beck: Avi—!

Tobias: Avi?

Shadow: -Immediate suspicion- Aviator, where are you?

“Woah woah woah now! One caller at a time! I’m not talking to any of you—juuuuuust the tresspasser.”

Skull: ({I really do not like where this is going…})

Tobias: Avi, what are you doing?! I need access to some radio towers if we’re going to find my brother!

“HA! You crack me up, Caller number 2. See, those are my towers now! And I’m not about to lease them out to amateurs.”

Tobias: -Takes a step back, deeply hurt by the insult- D:

Beck: Avi, no—! He’s your friend, don’t you—don’t you recognize him?

“HMMMM maybe I do, maybe I don’t! Nobody is getting any favors, though.”

[The view on the screens distorted and cut to footage being taken by a sky cam. After a moment, Avi himself swooped into view.]

Avi: Besides! You’d be wasting your time. And more importantly, wasting MINE!

Will: That’s enough, Aviator White! You will stop that RIGHT NOW and /COME HOME!/

Mikhail: ! (I’ve never seen him show his temper!)

[Apparently this came as a surprise to Avi as well, though his response was far less enthusiastic.]

Avi: …What.

Will: -Firmly, but more calmly now- Avi, listen to me. You need to come home immediately.

Will: You’re sick right now, but we can fix that—

[The airplane rolled his eyes and interjected.]

Avi: Not interested!

Beck: A-Avi! We just want to—!

Avi: Yeah, yeah, your handsome host heard the whole heartfelt exchange!

Keltso: -Hisses- You WHAT?

Avi: Yeah, I was there for that OH-so-dramatic promise to “save” everybody.

Avi: Stellar performance... but a classic example of a naïve delusion without basis in reality.

Beck: —!

Soi: N-now hold on a minute here! Six, let’s be reasonable—

Avi: Oh?

[His eyes widened, and then he looked up to the clouds in thought.]

Beck: (That… that actually worked—?)

Avi: Nah. I’d rather not mingle with the common crowd when I’ve got a show to run.

Beck: Avi, please!

Avi: Here’s the thing, Beckaroni—

Avi: NOBODY is coming home.

“You’re LYING!”

[Everyone turned toward the tiny Robot Master as he swept his brothers aside with sudden jutting sheets of ice.]

Snow: -Walking toward the monitor- EVERYBODY is coming home! Beck said so, and that means—

Avi: Haven’t you ever heard of waiting your turn, kid? Or better yet: “children should be seen, not heard!” Looks like your dad did a poor job of raising you. But hey, what can you expect from—

Keltso: Insult him and I promise on my mother’s grave that I will PERSONALLY hunt you down and make you regret it.

Avi: Ooooo, how scary! Big talk from someone who’s been forbidden to interfere!

Shadow: -Hotly- Six, we do not have time for your tomfoolery! If you refuse to comply, then buzz off!

Avi: Points for effort in your pun, space ninja! But sounds like you weren’t listening. NOBODY. Is coming. Home.

Shadow: -MUCH darker than anyone has ever heard from him, almost a distorted GROWLING- False.

Avi: Want me to PROVE it to you?

Mikhail: -Warily- …What do you mean by that?

Avi: Nothing big! If Caller Number 2 would back off, I can get you in touch with none other than everyone’s faaaavorite sword master, Brandish himself! He’s always been obsessed with obeying the rules, after all.

[There was abrupt static, and then—]

[PING!]

Will: ! (Brand’s signal! It’s—!)

[Everyone could feel it now.]

Shadow: -Ping- {M…Master Brandish?}

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

[The static faded out, only to be replaced by other background noise.]

Shadow: -Muted concern- {Master Brandish, can you hear us?}

[MN.7] //: {Ngh—!! Sh-Shadow...?!}

[For a brief moment, the dark anger that had a permanent place on Shadow’s face lifted, giving way to a visage of hopefulness and relief.]

Shadow: Sensei! {I am so relieved to get back in contact with you!}

[MN.7] //: {Where… where are—where are you—? Are you— nngh! Are you— afflicted—?}

Shadow: {No more than usual, but we are in trouble! You have no idea the turmoil that this chaos is throwing us into—!}

Shadow: {We need your help—}

[MN.7] //: {nO—}

Shadow: —???

[MN.7] //: -DISTRESSED PINGING, SCREAMS IN THE BACKGROUND-

[Despair. Horror.]

[MN.7] //: {NO—NONONO!}

Shadow: !

[…Fear.

…It was not something that Shadow was familiar with, but he felt it now, as plain as the moon.

Fear. Overwhelming, growing FEAR.]

Shadow: N-nan desu ka?

Shadow: {Sensei, what are you saying—?}

[MN.7] //: {NGH—}

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

[MN.7] //: -Distorted- Must slice...must dice...

Beck: N-nii-san!

[MN.7] //: —aAAARGH—NO! I—MY BLADES—!

[MN.7] //: Stay— stay out of harm's way, I can't—! I can't control—!

[Okay, now Shadow was beginning to panic.

He tried to lock onto Brandish’s signal, his eyes glowing a panicked, brighter red than normal.]

Shadow: {Sensei! For the love of the Lord Father, WHERE ARE YOU?!}

[MN.7] //: {I CAN'T—I CAN'T—!!}

Shadow: {NO! YOU MUST!}

[MN.7] //: {It's—! It's too late, Shadow! Can't… can't break free…!}

[Shadow wasn’t ready to accept that this was over.]

<DWN-024>: > {Tell me where you are, Sensei! I will come help y—}

[MN.7] //: {NO!}

<DWN-024>: > —?!?!!!

[MN.7] //: {It—is too LATE for me now, kohai! Won't—bring you down with me into this— torment—!}

<DWN-024>: > {PLEASE! I BESEECH YOU!}

[MN.7] //: {F-FORGIVE ME—!}

[MN.7 HAS BLOCKED DWN-024.]

[…Silence.]

Shadow: -Just. Speechless.-

Shadow: (No…)

[An error message then pops up as he falls to his knees.]

Snow: Sh-Shadow?!

>A problem has been detected and AI_DWN_024 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—

GOING INTO STASIS…

[Shadow’s eyes went dark as he collapsed and he remained motionless.]

Snow: Shadow, no! You hafta wake up!

“See? What did I tell you?”

Snow: -Looks up- …

Avi: Waste of time!

[At that, Snow started to cry.]

Will: Avi! You stop—

[Avi suddenly FLARED up with aura, flames flickering.]

Avi: -Darkly- Stop WHAT, you wet noodle? I’M only doing what any self-respecting reporter would do: giving people the TRUTH!

Tobias: ENOUGH!

[There was a high pitched screeching noise and a blast of data that felt like a loud note from subwoofers turning on.]

Beck: @~@!

Tobias: I’m getting REALLY FED UP with your STUPID INTERFERENCE!

[He was surrounded by visible static, his voice raising into outright shouting.]

Tobias: STOP IGNORING ME, AVI, AND /GET OUT OF MY WAY!/

Avi: 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!)

Tobias: Very funny, Avi.

Tobias: Hilarious.

Avi: Thaaaaanks. I practice~

Tobias: Kate would shoot you for something like that, you know! -Clearly annoyed-

Avi: ….

Avi: Who?

Beck: C-come on! Remember? Bon Jovi? Like Shade, but a girl? You’re her favorite, Avi—!

Avi: Ooooooh, you mean Caller Number 1 from eeeeaaaarlierrrr today!

Jack: What?

[Jack was suddenly at the forefront, grabbing at the screen.]

Jack: She called you?

Avi: Well, would ya look at that. Toy boy himself! Ha...!

Jack: (What?)

Avi: What can I say? Unlike you, I’m in demand.

Jack: Cut the [scrap], Six!

Avi: Hey now, mind your language around the kiddies! Though you should really send that crybaby off before he throws a temper tantrum.

Tobias: HEY! THAT’S MY BROTHER YOU’RE—

[Avi shifts into helicopter form so he can make gestures.]

Avi: AH AH AH, NOT YOUR TURN ANYMORE.

Avi: Yeah, that lady DID place a call earlier this morning! Came shouting in my ear with a list of demands, of course… because what else can you EXPECT from the likes of her…

Jack: Grr—!

Avi: She was screaming and throwing a bit of a fit herself, wanting her own way! She wouldn’t shut up until I reminded her of what she WAS.

Jack: (N-no!)

Avi: And ya know what the best part was? The last line RHYMED.~ MAN, I am so good...

[Jack grabbed at the corners of the screen, snarling in rage.]

Jack: Why YOU—

Avi: She couldn’t handle the TRUTH, of course. Screamed a couple of times before running off.

Beck: …!!!

Beck: (That—! That screaming from earlier!)

Beck: (That was HER?!)

Jack: Where is she?!

Avi: How should I know? She’s off SULKING! Probably venting her denial by picking off people she hates, one! By! One!

Avi: After all, that’s what she’s BEST at....and ALL that she’s GOOD FOR!

Jack: I'm gonna [GLITCHFRAG] BASH YOUR HEAD IN—

[He was abruptly yanked back by Speedy, who had sheathed his drawn boomerangs for now-

Speedy: -AAAAAAAND we’re holding Tigerboy Spiderman back- MIGHT WANT TO RECONSIDER THAT, DUDE, JUST SAYIN’—

[Jack wouldn’t have any of it.

Jack: -I’M GONNA TEAR HIM APART— HE HURT HER— -

Speedy: DUDE WHEN YOU GET MESSED UP FIGHTING RICK, SHE’S GONNA GO NUTS AND TAKE IT OUT ON US!

Avi: Yup! : D

[The plane gave a finger-gun point at Jack… literally.]

Avi: Jeez, what does she even SEE in you? A Cherry AND a loser? Wow. I'm actually impressed. Ya know. For a little leaguer like you.

Jack: [FRAG] YOU.

Avi: -Snort-

Speedy: Geez man don’t make me slice you to prove a point—

Avi: Ya might wanna take his advice, there, Jack-in-the-box.

Avi: Aaaas much as I would LOVE to see what makes YOU tick, Jackie Boy, even I know when I'm pushing my luck.

Avi: But don't worry—

Avi: You can always catch me on the air!~ ;D

Jack: -STRUGGLES-

[Beck couldn’t take any more of this.]

Beck: Avi! Please, stop!

Beck: It doesn’t have to be like this! You can end this! We don’t have to fight—!

Avi: Yeah, I can end it, alright.

[He gives a wave and then a shooing gesture.]

Avi: That's all for today, folks! Tune in next time! Buh-bye!

Tobias: THAT’S IT!

[The boy slammed his hand onto the control panel, causing the entire mainframe to sizzle with electricity.

Mikhail: Tobias—!

Tobias: You’re wasting our TIME, AVI! If you don’t move aside right now, then I WILL -MAKE- YOU RESTORE COMMS!

Tobias: LET ME THROUGH, GLITCHFRAG IT, I’M SHORT ON PATIENCE HERE!

Avi: Eeeeeeh….

Avi: 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.]

Avi: BUT.

Tobias: -Train of thought derailed- —?

Avi: I thiiiiink I can.... prooobably....

Avi: Squeeze you into a short segment....

Tobias: -Gives off abrupt data of discomfort and dread- (Why does that sound… really really bad…?)

Avi: How about this, caller number 2?~

[Suddenly—]

[MN.6 HAS ENTERED COMBAT DATA MODE. RESTRICTIONS: NONE.]

Avi: You wanna be my intern for a while?!

>WARNING! WARNING! DATA OVERLOAD!

[The bright-eyed Industrial staggered back from the controls with a shaky gasp. The world had started to go faint for a moment, and now he could barely hear anything. There was so much noise— he could hear so many broadcasts, so many frequencies— cascades of code reds and fatal errors—]

Tobias: Avi! PLEASE! STOP—!

Nico: -Rushes to Tobias’s side- Wh-what’s he doing?!

Will: He's trying to forcibly overload him—! It's—

Will: Avi, stop this! PLEASE!

Will: (I have to do something—!)

[Despite his best efforts, Will found that the RMDC branch server was causing too much interference. Numerous cross-references kept popping up all over the place, preventing him from getting anywhere.]

Tobias: S-STOOOOOOOPPPP!

[The data was fought back—forcefully. It seemed that the electric Industrial was not unfamiliar with fighting aggressive data.

He fought back with his own biting aggression, with the unbroken willpower he'd garnered from his father—with the disdain and scorn, the blinding pride, the bitterness—]

Avi: Nope! Can’t have you snooping around on the feeds, no sirree!

[—But no! It had no effect!

Tobias reeled, clutching his head in pain at a surge of possessive data. Something was tugging at him, trying to force him to submit. To surrender. To surrender everything.

He was sparking up in self-defense now as he went into overdrive, which earned a VERY pained cry from his younger brother.]

Avi: I got big, big plans, Caller. Avi News is gonna go GLOBAL!

[Tobias's own firewalls flared, but he could not escape so easily. He was burning up in fever as the onslaught pressed on.

It was not so much the blunt attempt to send them into a rage, like it had been earlier—no, this was a battle of control that was far worse than that. The demand to submit was pressing on his mind—this time, with the force of weight of enough data to threaten to overtake him. It was as if there were thousands—no, hundreds of thousands of different wills, and a horrific static—]

Tobias: Nggh—!

Tobias: NO!

Tobias: NO YOU WON’T!

[But he wasn't infamous as a data master for nothing. He kept his own mind despite the noise, and he wasn't about to let his voice go unheard.

He was… actively blocking data that his system was trying to send out, too. It wasn't reaching any of his brothers, nor the server itself—he had in effect locked himself in single combat against it.]

Tobias: I won’t give up! I’ll MAKE you get out of my way!

[A surge of spurning willpower.

The stubborn willpower of a Doctor Wily Number—the unflinching kind they inherited from their father.

The data crackled with irritation, drawing up power as it lashed out.

This seemed to have some sort of effect, even if minimal—for his refusal to submit and relinquish his resources was of no small amount of annoyance.

His probing tendrils sought to undermine the data stream, to hijack the IMMENSE power to be his own. He was pouring all his concentration into the matter, practically to the level that rivaled being in the Cloud. The struggle to break through finally seemed to pay off—he suddenly felt as if he had grabbed hold of Avi himself, somewhere in there—]

Will: ?!

Will: (What… what is this CODING?)

[Will stared in disbelief at the flashes of data across his screen. For a brief moment, here and there, he could see lines of active data—and some of it was brand new, Xel-based coding he had never seen before…]

Will: (Th-this is—!)

[Data being generated by a Robot Master using a XEL chassis.]

Will: (How is this POSSIBLE?)

Tobias: YOU… WILL… S T O P!!

[…And yet, he wasn’t REALLY giving it his all—that much was obvious. For even after the connection had been made… nothing happened, and the data storm continued to wail.

Tobias was holding back, for some reason.

And he was going to pay for it.]

Avi: Jeez—you’re really a spicy one! I’m actually impressed!

Avi: 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!

Tobias: Grr…!

[A blast of raw emotional data screamed along the connection. These words had incited a BITTER sense of guilt and regret, of self-hate—]

Avi: —!!

Avi: NGH—

[Avi recoiled in pain as true aggression rose—the uncoiling power that was the fallen mastermind's favorite, unfettered—]

Tobias: -VERY bitterly- I’m no hero.

Tobias: BUT I STILL WON’T LET YOU DO THIS.

[The hate, the sheer HATE that burned, burned the sick airplane subsided, replaced by a meek and hurting fear.]

Tobias: I… I c-can’t let you make my mistakes…!

Avi: Ow…OK…yeah, that hurt…

[For a moment, the noise was starting to die down. Relieved, Tobias started to relax. In doing so, he slipped further into sorrow.]

Tobias: …

Tobias: S-sorry…

Tobias: Nggh…! Now… please, stop!

Tobias: -Faintly, as if tired and vulnerable- Stop…

Avi: … …

Tobias: …A-Avi…?

[…Data.]

[…It…was Avi’s data, yes, but… so much darker.]

Tobias: -Wha— -

[Anger.]

Avi: That…hurt.

Avi: NOW YOU’RE GONNA GET IT!

[Tobias was suddenly slammed with signals. They weren’t just conversational—they were trying to get inside his head, mess with his mind! They were burrowing deep into his psyche, tripping off flags left and right, feeding on his fear, his desperation—]

Tobias: -SCREE OF FEAR- 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 writhing in agony on the ground, overcome with painful disorientation as he fought off the attempt to seize control.

The sheer volume was blinding, every bit of it bad. His web of control was suddenly being used to restrain him, to pin him down in his mind—a prisoner of his own memories, stabbing at his Awareness with thousands of shards of information that matched internal cross-references—chipping away at his immense processing power that was being used to fight this all off—!]

[He was almost in tears—tears of despair—as he fruitlessly tried so very hard to overthrow the invasion without harming his best friend.

He couldn't—he just couldn't keep this up, he was caving—]

Avi: HA!

[Almost… almost—!]

Tobias: -ERROR…-

[There was an audible SNAP of electricity as his defenses gave way. The link that he had established to try and take control was pulsing with seething, predatory intent.]

Avi: Aaaand that’s a wrap!

[And then—then it was everywhere. Noise… false data, dragging him in, trying to dissolve him—]

Tobias: Please…

[He could not be consumed, even as the sick malice seeped into every fiber of his memory. His resistance was gone, and what little will he had left was spent trying to hang on to his Awareness and individuality.]

Tobias: -Distantly- S-stop… Avi, please…

Avi: You just don’t know how to LISTEN, do ya? I said NO.

Beck: Avi! STOP—!

[The threads of his awareness flicked and shriveled under the weight of red flags.]

KKKKSSST!

[The roaring weight of the data hearkened back to the worst of memories—not just his, but those of his brothers. His attempts to prevent the memories from going live had bravely protected the others by isolating his current experience from the server… but he could not hold out for much longer. As soon as the cross-references went live, he would be lost.]

Avi: NOW SHUT UP.

Avi: There’s nothing you can do against ME, anyway! BWHAHAHAHA!

Nico: Mikhail! Do something!

Mikhail: I’m TRYING—!

[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.

He fought back against the demands to remember—he valiantly resisted against recalling the deep darkness.

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. It just truly reminded him of days long past.

…He weakened.]

>ANALYZING DATA…

[It only took that one moment of weakness. That one moment of being rendered helpless, unable to fight back.

And in that moment…]

>NEURAL LINK VERIFIED

[His own firewall gave way, too broken and lag-ridden to continue to function. The Awareness was being choked out of him, and he could feel it dimming. His lifeless willpower was almost gently arranged into place, as in its stead…]

Avi: Finally...

>User access level update acknowledged. MNN-006 has been registered as RMDC native. Access to DLN-008 user data granted. Authorization code: DLN-008.

[Mighty Number Six overtook his mind.]

>COMMAND ACCEPTED

[The invasive, annoyingly persistent obstacle was HIS, now—]

Avi: You're mine—

> WARNING: DATA ERROR DETECTED.

> ERROR IDENTIFIED: SUBCLASS “VOICE"—AWARENESS PROGRAMS

> REPORT DETAILS: Multiple Awareness programs detected. This system does not support Awareness plurality.

> DATA STREAM CANCELED— ERROR X09: AWARENESS PLURALITY MALFUNCTION

Avi: What the—

[There was a buzz of annoyed data.]

Avi: Nice try, but you’re under contract now, kid!

> OVERRIDE ERROR X09 FAILSAFE: Authorization code DLN-008

> WARNING—

Avi: Yeah, yeah, whatever. -Selects to ignore- Now let’s see what you’re so intent on—

> ACKNOWLEDGED.

>ACCESSING ENCRYPTED DATA

[Nothing in all the worlds could prepare Mighty No. 6 for what came next…]

>WARNING: 06.21.20XX MEMORY DATA CROSS-REFERENCES TO MULTIPLE CRITICALLY HAZARDOUS FILES!

Avi: —!!?

>GENERATING NEW PRIMAL ANALYSIS NEXUS

>INITIATING DATA FUSION

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE—

[When he had accessed the hidden depths of the mind—

—he had not been prepared for the fact that this would lay bare the soul for him to see!]

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA—!”

[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—]

Avi: 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.]

[It surged through the link without mercy, unleashing the unfiltered darkness, slamming into Avi's being and dragging it down, DOWN into the void—]

>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…

[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.]

Avi: 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.

The pleas for mercy only aggravated the data even further—such despair echoed back dozens-fold, and it only got WORSE.]

>ERROR: EMOTIONS.EXE OVERLOAD

[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.]

Avi: -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.

The link was healthy enough, alright—Tobias had managed to latch onto a very crucial aspect of Avi's coding. For No. 6… had built to process as much data as possible. To gather and analyze heavy volume from multiple sources, without being overwhelmed—able to fully experience and understand every byte of it.

Today, that was his curse.]

>CROSS REFERENCE IDENTIFIED: D E A T H

>DEATH WEARS BLUE

"AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGH—"

> 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…

[Mercy—oh, MERCY—it's finally STOPPED—]

[Tobias collapsed when Avi finally managed to break free. And there he lay, lifeless on the ground. Unaware, dead to the world—and to the horrified attempts to wake him.

The fight for his mind had caused major damage by shattering his Awareness.

It became too much for him to take.]

>REBOOT SEQUENCE FAILED.

<DLN-008 has gone Offline.>

[Will took a step back from the terminal as it suddenly blared static before going completely black.]

Beck: TOBY—!

Soi: Will! What’s going on?

Will: The server’s crashed!

[He frantically set it to restart, each second stretching out like an eternity. Error messages plagued the rebooting sequence, all with the same message:

All connection to the Meadow via the RMDC mainframe had been shut off. And all attempts to locate the others—Robot Master or Xelbot alike—were met with a popup saying that the status inquiries were not authorized, with error tags relating to Tobias.]

[Beck visibly paled, sick to his stomach, the world started to spin—he would have gone Offline right then and there had the shock weren't keeping him awake.

He was on his own. Truly, most certainly on his own, with no teammates, no friends, no brothers by his side.

And he knew it was only going to get worse...]

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

=CHAPTER 2D: BEYOND THE WATERY VORTEX=

~AO v1.0~

(Courtesy of @limitbreakers)

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

{SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.}

Jack: . . . . .

Jack: oh man I am so cold--

[He made it.]

[Somehow, he made it.]

[In the COLD, pouring rain, he made it.]

Jack: frag frag frag frag--

[It was coming down in SHEETS, and the city was in utter turmoil. There were nearly no humans in sight in the street he was in, and the robots that were left were free to follow their new directive: destroy. ]

[Fortunately, Jack stuck to the back allies to avoid being seen by them, quickly making his way towards a familiar landmark--]

[The Space Needle.]

Jack: (OK, you're back now, you're in the States....)

Jack: ....

Jack: (NOW what?)

Jack: (Can't find Carmen if I can't find her brothers....)

Jack: (Can't exactly CALL her cuz of Six...)

Jack: (Bird guy is who KNOWS where....I'm on my own here.)

Jack: ......

Jack: (Well--I can't just keep moving around without SOME idea of where I should go--)

Jack: (Space Needle's a landmark--people know it, so someone's GOTTA be there--maybe someone that can help or something...)

Jack: (Gonna take a while to get there by FOOT...)

[Jack takes a moment to scan the streets, eyeing the many abandoned cars left there when the virus first struck.]

Jack: (...Hate to take someone else's car, but if I'm lucky--)

"HEY--!"

Jack: --!!

[Jack turns around at the voice--it seemed to come from behind--no wait--]

"GGHHAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH--!!!"

Jack: oh SH--

[Jack sprung out of the alley and into the street as a large, LARGE fireball NEARLY burns him alive from above-- it shatters the pavement were he once stood before, leaving only a scorched, black hole in the ground. ]

Jack: WHAT THE HELL IS--

[WHAM!]

[Jack felt a foot connect with his abdomen, and he was kicked back into a totaled car, creating a sizeable dent...]

Jack: NGH--!!

Jack: Awwwwshitthatsmarts--

[...Giggling.]

Jack: ...???

"Why, ALOHA, little man!~"

Jack: --?!

Jack: Wait a--

Jack: You--You're Plume...!

[Jack had HEARD of this one--Plume was Hawaii's very own Arena bot fire dancer, part of the small but efficient combat team, Island Koas. They weren't among the high ranking teams--so Jack had never FACED her--but her solo fighting career was impressive enough.]

Plume: Hehehe...Awww, did I scorch you? I WAS aiming a little TOO low, wasn't I?~

Jack: UM--

Plume: {You seem like a good dance partner.~}

Jack: .....

Jack: Uh--M-Miss Plume--I--I don't have Hawaiian in my languages--

Plume: Really? That's too bad--

[Fireballs start to form on both of her hands--and one on her head--despite the pouring rain, it didn't seem like it was affecting her in any negative way.]

Plume: Maybe I can take you back to my island and TEACH you a few tricks?~

Jack: Uh--Well--uh...

Jack: --....

Jack: Wait...

Jack: How in the WORLD did you get here to the mainland?

Plume: Mm? Oh...

Plume: I had a little HELP.~

Plume: He's having some fun with the Navy!~

-*-*-*-*-

[MEANWHILE, OFF THE WEST COAST...]

"HE'S MOVING TOO FAST--"

"WASN'T HE ON STARBOARD SIDE?!"

"SIR, I CAN'T GET A LOCK ON--"

"LOOK OUT!"

Merlion: -R O A R I N G-

-*-*-*-*-

[BACK IN SEATTLE...]

Jack: ....The Navy--...

Plume: He was visiting my island when I asked him for a ride. I didn't want to miss the big Luau here on the mainland, you know? ~

Jack: ....Miss Plume--

Plume: But enough talk! ~

Plume: I want to see if you can LAST longer than the OTHERS.~ Finding the PERFECT dance partner is SO hard these days--

Jack: Miss Plume I REALLY don't wanna hurt you--

Plume: I wonder, little man--

[FWING!]

Jack: oH CRAP--

[Plume swayed to one side gracefully, and a wave of fire flew from the flames that burned from her wrists--forcing Jack to duck under it.]

Plume: Can you take the heat?~

[ E N C O U N T E R ]

[IKN.1 - CODENAME: 'PLUME']

[STRENGTH: 20 DEFENSE: 20 S.ATTACK: 40 INTELLIGENCE: 30]

[Plume's central abilities--Fire and Dance--blended very well together in terms of her native culture. And it showed on the Battlefield: Plume's a graceful fighter, using her dances to both avoid enemy fire and deal some damage herself.]

[Wave after WAVE of fire pierced through the streets, slashing at cars and scorching the asphalt. Jack had no choice but to keep backing off, avoiding her and the resulting explosions from her destructive onslaught.]

Plume: Where are you going? We haven't even STARTED!~

Jack: MA'AM, I REALLY, REALLY THINK--

[FWING!]

[A fireball nailed him right in the shoulder--not a large one, but enough to really BURN--]

Jack: Aaah--!

Jack: (OhGodshe'sreallytryingtokillme--)

Jack: (SHE'SGONNA--)

Plume: {Ooooh, little maaaaaan!~}

Jack: . . . .

[Jack doesn't stick around. He BOLTS for it.]

[....]

[Or. Tries to, at least. ]

[The street he's on happens to be a dead end. ]

Jack: WHA--

Plume: Theeeere you aaaaare.~

[Swaying from side to side like a puppet on strings, Plume lightly approaches Jack with blue fire trailing behind her--her eyes a deep, deep red.]

Plume: Why do they ALWAYS run away?

Plume: .......

[The fire around her dims just for a moment.]

Jack: ...?

Plume: They NEVER stay. Not for long...

Plume: No one does...

Plume: You VISIT Hawaii. You don't stay.

Plume: No one EVER stays...

Jack: ......Miss...Plume...?

Plume: ......

[Plume's expression changes.]

[It changes to one of anger. ]

Plume: Why don't they STAY?!

Jack: --Erk--!

[She steps ever closer, fire and rain mixing together, steam rising to the darkening sky as Jack feels his back touch brick.]

Jack: --!! (Nonononono--)

Plume: My home is... paradise on Earth...

Plume: Who wouldn't want that? ~

Jack: (Oh God I don't wanna hurt her--it's not her fault she's like this--!)

Jack: (Wires and Hacking--what GOOD would those do?! UGH, I CAN'T DIE HERE--!!)

Jack: (Come on, Jack, THINK...)

Jack: (All your stupid wires can do is just grab things and there's no WAY I'm getting that close to Plume--)

Jack: (--!!!)

Jack: (WAAAAAIT A SEC--)

[Jack frantically looks around for something--ANYTHING--that looked sturdy enough support his weight.]

Jack: ---!

[There! Above him--a set of broken, steel stairs that lead to the roof of this building--an apartment complex. The bottom was blown off, so there was no way to climb it from the ground--]

[But if he aimed right--]

Plume: YOU MEN NEVER STAY W I T H ME!

[ZIIIIIP!]

[FOOOOM--]

Jack: SORRY MISS PLUME--

[Jack shot his wires up to the broken stairs--and retracted them, lifting himself up and away from Plume's furious fire!]

Plume: ?!?

Jack: BUT I GOT ANOTHER DANCE TO GET TO--

Jack: AND I'M PRETTY SURE SHE'D KILL ME IF I WAS LATE!

Plume: -SCREEEEEECH-

Plume: COME BACK HERE!

Jack: NOPE--

Jack: GOTTA RUN, BYE--

[Fireballs are chucked at his retreating form as he runs up the rest of the stairs, demonic screams of rage filling his ears. When she saw that she couldn't quite get to him from here, she decides to double back--for now.]

Plume: {I'LL MAKE YOU STAY WITH ME, LITTLE MAN--S T A Y!!}

Jack: ........

Jack: Oh God--

[Finally seeing that he was safe for the moment--he collapses in a heap, catching his breath. The first stars start to twinkle in the sky.]

Jack: (OK--....can't stay, you're not safe, she'll come back through the other street on the other side--gotta keep moving...)

Jack: (Tired...so tired, can't rest--....ugh crap my shoulder hurts...)

Jack: (Don't have wheels...can't steal a car...)

Jack: .......

[......]

[Jack's hand rests on his face as he thinks, momentarily staring at the small panel on his wrist that his his wires.

...He never thought they'd be useful for anything but tripping things and yanking or holding people in place...]

[......]

"DENCER! LET ME GO!"

"I--"

"PLEASE!"

Jack: .......

Jack: ....Mmmng.

[He's kinda always thought his Wires were just....an annoyance.]

Jack: .......

[But maybe they weren't? They DID just save him from being Hawaiian barbeque...]

[Maybe he could do something....MORE with them?]

“…You are a stronger man than you give yourself credit for, Jack.”

Jack: ........

Jack: (What ELSE...what else...)

Jack: ....

Jack: (Well--right now I need a fast way to the Needle--but no wheels. All I got are these things...)

Jack: .......

[ONE MINUTE LATER...]

Jack: Godalmighty this is the stupidest thing--

[Jack was standing right on the edge of the same roof--goggles on, sleeves rolled up, looking down to the street below. The building was about 10 stories high...]

Jack: .........

[A fall from this height...it wouldn't KILL him, but it would certainly do some major damage.]

Jack: .....

Jack: I do NOT get paid enough for this...

Jack: OK--just...aim for that other building across the street--and swing--like--like Tarzan or something like that--

Jack: OK on three....

Jack: One....two....

Jack: ......

Jack: Two and a half...

Jack: .......

Jack: .....

Jack: . . .

Jack: [FRAG] IT I CAN'T DO IT--

Jack: (I CAN'T JUMP OFF A DAMN BUILDING IT'S SUICIDE WHAT AM I THINKING--)

"{OH LITTLE MAAAAAAAN!~}"

Jack: . . . .

Jack: [Glitchfragit]--!

[He backs up, takes a few deep breaths, and takes off in a running start--]

[FOOOOM!]

[The street below him lights up in FLAMES as he leaps from the roof--]

Plume: --!!!

[ZIIIIIP!]

Jack: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH--

[His wires latch onto the taller building on the other side...]

[....and he sails... ]

[Over the flames, over Plume, in a perfect arch that ended just on the building on the corner--]

[Jack didn't have enough height to reach the roof of that one--but it was enough to catch onto a windowsill, scrambling up to find perchance--]

Jack: --!!!

Jack: ......

Jack: HOLY SHIT I'M ALIVE--

[Even Plume had to take a moment to process what just happened--the little man wasn't a flying model... ]

Jack: I FREAKIN' DID IT--

Jack: FRAG, THAT WAS AWESOME--YO, MISS PLUME DID YOU SEE WHAT--

[FOOOOSH!]

"RAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"

Jack: ....Ohright--

[Sheeeee was still angry.]

Plume: {WHO TOLD YOU YOU COULD FLY AWAY, LITTLE MAN?!}

Jack: AAAAAND I'M OUTTA HERE--

[ZIIIIP!]

[The repeated sounds of ziplining wires and screams of bloody rage echo throughout the rainy city, drawing ever closer to the Space Needle...]

Jack: Gotta get high enough to reach the top--!

Plume: -DEMONIC SCREAMING-

Jack: (THAT DOES NOT SOUND GOOD AT A L L--)

[Jack has never been this high UP before--]

Jack: Almost there almost there--

[And all this wind and rain was NOT making things any easier--he REALLY needs to thank the ice kid for the goggles--]

Plume: {LITTLE MAAAAAAAN!}

Jack: FOR PETE'S SAKE I'M NOT LITTLE--

[WOW that Needle was WAY up high--]

[C R A C K!!!]

Jack: GGNH!!

[The intense electricity messes with his systems, alright, due to being close to it to begin with--]

Plume: NAAH--!

[But that went true for his pursuer too.]

Jack: (No good--gotta get inside--gotta break through a window--!)

[To do that, he needed enough speed--so he proceeded to swing another lap around the Needle, fireballs pelting from below, rain pounding in his face and thunder clapping above his head--]

Jack: AAAAAAAAAAAAH--!!!

[With one final scream, Jack swung--one final time, lighting flashed, for a moment he couldn't see a thing--]

[C R A C K!]

[Static. Glass breaking.]

[Screams.]

"OH GOD THEY GOT IN--"

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE--"

[More static...]

"ELI, WHAT DO WE DO--?!"

"GET ME THE GUN--"

"HE FLEW IN THROUGH THE WINDOW-- "

"WHERE IS THE GUN?!?"

[. . . . . .]

[SYSTEMS REBOOTING...]

[.....]

Jack: ........

Jack: Nnngh....

[SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE.]

Jack: Nh...?

Jack: Uuugh, my head....

Jack: Owwwww...

[. . . . .]

[CLICK.]

Jack: ....?

[With some effort, Jack turns his head towards the strange sound--]

[Only to find a revolver being pointed at his face.]

"Alright, ya crazy freeloading flyin' freak--"

[A middle aged human man looks down at the CDN, cold muddy eyes beating down on him in an unforgiving manner.]

"You got 5 seconds to start talking or your Xel's gonna stain this floor tonight."

Jack: ...........

Jack: . . . . . .

Jack: PLEASE DON'T THROW ME OUT THERE, THERE'S A CRAZY HAWAIIAN BOT THAT WANTS TO FRY ME UP--

???: We know.

Jack: --??

???: Why do you think we're STUCK up here?

Jack: . . . .

???: . . . .

???: I'm gonna be straight with you. You're a Xelbot. And all of them's gone outta their minds for some reason or another-- something about a virus.

Jack: .......

???: My family is up here too.

???: You see where I'm coming from?

Jack: .....Y...Yes sir....

???: Good.

???: Now--so far--you don't seem like Miss Plume down there.

Jack: I-I--She...

Jack: She's not OK, it's not her fault--

???: No, but right now that don't matter. Point is, as long as she's down there raising hell...we can't escape.

Jack: .......

Jack: ......

Jack: Sir--please, just--listen to me--I get it, you're afraid, and trying to protect people, but I can't stay here--

???: Why?

Jack: I'm LOOKING for someone and I REALLY don't think she'd like it if I wounded up DEAD so PLEASE--please believe me--!

[THUMP.]

???: Whatthehell--

[THUMP.]

Jack: (THE WHOLE BUILDING IS SHAKING--)

[T H U M P.]

"ELI!!!"

[As the human--Eli--snapped his attention to the screaming woman that ran around the curve of the observation deck, Jack quickly took the chance to collect himself from the floor and back off a safe distance--]

Eli: Gwen--stay back, what is going--

[The woman named Gwen was hysteric, and grabbed hold of Eli's arm with her free hand...]

[...For the other was busy carrying some... precious cargo.]

"Waaaah!"

Jack: ....

Jack: oh my God is that a baby.

Eli: YOU STAY BACK--

Jack: DUDE I WAS ONLY ASKING--

[T H U M P.]

[A deep, LOUD, primal ROAR cut through the atmosphere, and the building shook once again, swaying, the sounds of metal groaning all around them--]

"WAAAAAAAH!"

Gwen: Shh, shh, it's OK, Lily--!

Eli: Gwen--Stay back with the rest of--

[T H U M P.]

"OH MY GOD WE'RE ALL D E A D--"

[The screams of terrified humans--plus one infant child--resounded once more as the building swayed again.]

Jack: (What the HELL--Plume can't be doing this--she's not--)

[The changing angle of the ground made the CDN lose balance--sliding over to another window, and making the rest of the trapped tourists follow suit. They grabbed onto whatever was bolted down and held on for dear, dear life...]

Jack: Aaarg--...

Jack: --!!!

[When Jack's gyroscopic systems recalibrated, his eyes caught sight of the cause of the sudden tremors through the window beneath...]

Jack: ....Oh no...

Jack: Landcrusher...

Jack: Of ALL THE BOTS IN THE WORLD--

[Landcrusher--the latest member of Germany's combat team--had also been visiting America from overseas when the Virus struck, turning him from a once kind, caring soul into a rampaging beast, intent on toppling the Space Needle--just for the sole purpose of it's fall.]

Landcrusher: {RAAAAAAAGH!!!}

[T H U M P--!]

[His HUGE arms and hands were tearing away at the Needle's base, causing it's structure to bend this way and that--any further, and the landmark would crumble.]

Jack: (He's gonna bring this whole place DOWN--with all these people in it--!)

Jack: (Damn it, I can't take that guy on--he'll WRECK me, and--)

Eli: Goddamnit where's the gun--

Jack: (THIS guy's on the verge of putting one in me--)

Jack: (FRAG--this CAN'T get any worse--!)

{"YOU BIG LUG--"}

[C L A N K!]

Jack: oh sweet lord--PLUME?!

[The fiery Hawaiian had returned--and it was clear that she was NOT in a very happy mood with what she saw.]

Plume: {STAY--}

[A fireball was launched--]

[C L A N K!]

Landcrusher: --ARGN--!!

[--right at Landcrusher's face--!]

Jack: ?!

Plume: {--AWAY FROM MY DANCE PARTNER!!}

[Landcrusher's response was another berserker roar--he SWUNG his massive frame one final time at the Needle before turning his attention to the IKN--]

[Who, with a war cry, launched herself at the larger Xelbot with no fear whatsoever.]

Jack: What....

Eli: That...that's not right...

[Needless to say, the trapped humans were completely horrified at what they saw.]

Jack: (Jeezus, they look ready to TEAR into each other--...)

Jack: ........

Jack: (I can't stay here.)

[A glance at the small family. The trapped tourists.]

Jack: (Neither can they--and who knows how long those two are gonna go at it...)

Jack: .......

Jack: Hey.

Eli: --!

Jack: CDN.7037. Call me Jack.

Eli: --You're a Cherry?

Jack: YES I'm a Cherry but that's not the point--

Jack: None of us are gonna make it if we stick around here.

Jack: So does ANYONE have any ideas to get outta here?

Jack: Plume and Crusher aren't gonna fight forever--now's a better chance than any.

Eli: God, I don't know--

"I'M NOT GOING DOWN THE STAIRS, THEY'RE BROKEN--"

"Elevator's out too."

"CAN'T CALL FOR HELP--"

Jack: (.....There really IS no way down from here...)

Jack: (...Not through normal means, anyway...)

[The entire building was now leaning to one side, like some ripoff of the Tower of Pisa--but it did allow it be closer to some of the smaller buildings--Jack could easily swing across...]

Jack: (...There are, what, like more than 30 people here?)

Jack: (Swinging across back and forth would take WAY too long...)

Jack: (There's GOTTA be another way to get these people off...)

Eli: ....Hey--you...you swung up here, didn't you?

Jack: Yeah, I did--

Eli: Can't you--lower us down somehow?

Jack: . . .

Jack: (Lower...)

Jack: --!!

Jack: Eli--I need a wheel--and something long and flat, like a table or something.

Eli: --! You got a plan?

Jack: Yeah...half of one, at least. (I just hope it’s enough!)

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=BONUS CONTENT: BONUS SCENE #4=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

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

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{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))

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