Forgotten King

by Iniora Nackatori

J has been kidnapped by BioNet. Renais is Not Amused. Though she is somewhat more amused by J's new friend. This being a good thing or not is a mater of debate...

So... When I found out a certain something that had been on a CD Drama, this fic kind of took off.

There are OCs in this. Because Three G had to get personnel from somewhere...

The Forgotten King

Footsteps. Two meters. Lack of audible equipment. Scientists most likely. One point five meters. Two voices. From the jargon being tossed fast and heavy, the two are indeed scientists. One meter. A jangle of plastic sliding against cloth. Point five meters. The door lock activates. The security net shuts down for a fraction of a second.

They never see her coming.

Scientists or not, she gives them no quarter. These are her targets. These, the enemies who ripped the heart out of her. Not just her heart. The heart of a kind woman, her sweet son, and the ship she was beginning to call home.

The closer of the two scientists is given a visceral understanding of what it feels like to have ones heart ripped out. She doesn't actually do so, of course. That would take too long. A combat knife between his ribs slides through muscle and slices the upper right atria. Bleeding to death takes a minute at most. A long, painful minute. It would have been kinder to snap his neck.

Renais Cardiff Shishioh was not feeling kind.

In the same motion, she removes her knife from the dying scientists, kicks the breathing scientist with her right leg hard enough to leave an imprint of her boot on his chest and knock the air from his lungs. The kicked scientist slams hard enough into the wall to dislocate a bone or two. Still in motion Renais slams her left hand against the wall close enough to the scientist's head she can reach out and stroke his ear if she so wished.

Renais stopped with a scant five inches between her and her target. Close enough for him to start sweating as the heat of her perpetually overheating systems washed over him. Her cold coat triggered, turning his sweat to icicles.

"Tell me," Renais hissed through bared teeth.

The scientist blubbered.

"Tell me where he is."

The scientist blubbered on; tried to get the breath to ask, "Who?" but succeeded solely in sounding like a pathetic imitation of a barnyard owl.

"Soldato-J 002. Tell me where he is. Now!"

---

It was a beautiful day out again. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Really, she couldn't blame Mrs. Norris's cat for going out to see the sights and listen to the sounds. That red tailed squirrel with the puffy cheeks had been begging to be pounced on, what with the way its tail had twitched just so. Then again, the squirrel had probably planned on being too tempting a target to ignore. Mrs. Norris's cat was great at climbing trees.

Getting down? Not so much...

Ah, but it didn't matter. Mrs. Norris's cat was safely returned, Jamie had gotten some decent exercise in, and she'd gotten paid. There was nothing left to do with the rest of her day except enjoy being alive. ...and homework. Jamie didn't want to think too hard about homework, though.

There was a rattle in a nearby bush.

Jamie slowed, debating if she should reach for her mini camera or not. The lighting in this part of the park woods wasn't great even on good days like today. But, the Ranger the other day had mentioned a tourist commenting on seeing a male robin. Robins weren't common this time of year much less in this area. And while Jamie didn't know much about birds, she could reasonably say that particular bush was very tempting to an avian looking for prime real estate. The squirrels around here were fat enough to entice predators into heading their way, rather than in the direction of a nimble flier.

Wait. That rattle was too loud to be a bird...

Reaching instead for her can of mace, Jamie headed towards the bush. The bush rattled a bit more. For a moment the wind sounded as though it were moaning.

Except there's no wind, Jamie realized.

Oh boy... There was no way this could be good. Stepping right up to the bush's edge, Jamie shoved the shrub partway aside.

Right. This was worse than not good. Much, much worse...

---

"How deep were you able to penetrate their systems before BioNet blocked you?" Renais demanded.

"Approximately nineteen percent further penetration into their primary cloud database," TOMORO-0117 reported. A chute popped open as Renais past; Renais dropped her cracked shotgun into it. "I have isolated the data and am scrubbing it of countermeasures now. Estimated time until further information relative to our mission is secured: Nine hours, thirteen minutes."

Renais shrugged out of her cold coat. "They've improved their countermeasures that much?" she demanded, dropping the coat onto a waiting wrack. The wrack spun, slipping a fresh cold coat – teal blue with pink highlights – into her pending grip.

"Not improved so much as begun using countermeasures previously held in reserve. Renais. This is the fifth BioNet laboratory we have struck since J was taken two weeks ago. It was inevitable they would begin increasing their countermeasures."

If it weren't for the fact TOMORO was the J-Ark itself, Renais would have given in to her first impulse and punched her fist through the closest wall.

"I have to find him, TOMORO. I have to."

"J's capture was not your fault, Renais."

At that, Renais did punch the wall.

"Your responsibility as J's partner, yes," TOMORO-0117 continued. "But it is not your fault. J chose to save you. He would not wish you to undo his efforts and self destruct."

"Che." Renais turned off the corridor heading to the command deck. "If I didn't know better, I would think you'd been taking to my father."

"Dr. Liger is likewise concerned regarding your instance on pushing yourself past your operational limits. Or so Kaido Sakura has reported," TOMORO amended. "Both Kaido Sakura and Arma have requested we break off seek and destroy missions and rendezvous with Volfogg."

Renais faltered at the entrance to the automated maintenance room.

"Volfogg's assistance would reduce the estimated time to neutralize the data's countermeasures to four hours and two minutes."

Renais gripped the door's edge hard enough to leave a dent. "Do what you have to, TOMORO. Whatever you have to, to find J."

"Understood."

The door to the automated maintenance room could not be slammed. Its lack did not make the silence in the corridor any less deafening.

---

I am awake.

Senses came online. Touch first, registering rubbery cotton of bandages, the sting of medical liquids, and a feeling of polyester blend sheets where bandages were not wrapped. Sound followed; the echos of a single individual humming to themselves traced out a moderate room. Scent confirmed the presence of bandages and medical solutions; the sharpness of both scents had been dulled by time and dimmed by the snap of popped buttered corn. Sight presented an unfamiliar stucco ceiling, off white beige in color.

He sat up.

"No wait don't!"

An unknown voice. Unknown hands and arms gripping him by the shoulders and bracing him along his back and chest. Vision failed to properly re-calibrate leaving the world spinning. His internal mechanisms ceased, turning his breathing harsh and granting him an unpleasant feeling.

"Hold on. Just a second."

The arm bracing his back moved away. Sound picked up the movement of objects behind him. The arm bracing his back returned.

"Here. Lean back. Nice and easy."

The arms bracing him assisted in insuring he did not lean back fast enough to cause further harm. Feathery softness impacted his lower back, then his mid back, before embracing his shoulders. A pillow of some type, then.

"Sit still. I'm going to get you some juice. It should help a little. ...I think."

Her hair is not red.

A bizarre thought. Why should this individual's hair be red? Why did he think she should be wearing a coat? The temperature within the room was temperate, not cool. No additional layers of clothing were necessary.

She is... young. Younger than whom I am searching for.

Yes... He remembered being injured in an escape from forces which wished to harm the one he was searching for. The one he was searching for was older than this person. She had red hair and wore a coat at all times.

It was the most information he had been able to remember in weeks. Ever since The Enemy had removed –

He looked down at his left arm. The Item was still missing. It had bee taken from him by The Enemy. It had his memories stored within it. Even so the Item had not been worth his continuing functions. When the opportunity had presented itself, he had escaped.

The young one was returning with an opaque plastic glass holding approximately eight ounces of gold clear liquid.

"Here." Her voice was not remotely within the same vocal range as the one he was searching for. She was sitting beside him on the – yes, that's right. This furniture item was called a 'western bed'. "See if you can drink all of this. Slowly. I dunno who did that," her slick reddish gold hair drifted loose of its ponytail confinement as she nodded in the direction of the bandages, "but they were professionals. How professional, I can't tell... But I wouldn't doubt anyone that proficient at torture skipped withholding food. You're probably starved."

His internal mechanism malfunctioned, causing a gargling sound to emanate from his midsection.

"Correction," she amended, voice registering as rueful, cobalt eyes reflecting mirth. "You are indeed starved. Drink slowly, alright?"

His arms shook as he wrapped his hands around the glass. She helped him drink the sugary liquid, insuring he did not spill. She was... kind.

"We'll see how long apple juice stays down before we move up to toast," she ordered. He acknowledged with a nod. She took the glass from his weak grip and placed it on a medium sized plastic cabinet. "My name is Jamie. What's yours?"

He shook his head negative. His name was stored in the Item with his memories. At least, he presumed it was.

"You don't remember?"

He shook his head affirmative.

"That's alright. Given how badly you were hurt..." A dark shadow crossed her features, there long enough to be registered before she dismissed it. "I'm sure you'll remember something, is what I think I'm supposed to say. So long as you're just suffering from shock rather than amnesia you might be able to remember eventually. Amnesia..." A smile that did not reach her eyes. Attempting to be reassuring? "I can't just go about calling you, 'Hey, you!', though. Does anything come to mind?"

He held up two fingers.

She mimicked him. "Two?"

He nodded affirmative. "That is what they called me in the laboratory."

She blinked, a rapid flutter of eyelashes as her optics reset; almost as if she thought resetting her optics would reset her auditory input. "That..." Her voice faltered. She reset her vocal systems by clearing her throat. "That was a designation for while you were at a lab. You're not in a lab now, though. You're in my condo. You don't have to be known by a number. U-Unless you want to...?"

True. Identifying himself by the designation placed on him by The Enemy was not appealing. It would be best for the purposes of stealth if he select a different designation.

"Duce," he decided.

She suffered a minor motion control error; her eyebrow twitched. "Duce is just another way to say two, though... And," she scratched at an itch on her head, "in this area, 'duce' is often a derogatory slang." Her eyes brightened and she snapped her fingers. "Unless you switch it around a bit! Give it a long 'e' sound and you get Deus. Its Greek for god. An example of usage being the trope Deus Ex Machina or God in the Machine. Its used when an author can't figure any other way to bring a story to a close, so they have the local deity of choice step in to end things." She laughed, clapping her hands. "If we say you're my cousin, no one will think twice! Instant camouflage in plain sight!"

Camouflage would be helpful; he could not argue otherwise.

"We'll consider it your code name until you remember your real name," she decided. "My full name is Jessica Jamie Jenkins. I prefer going by Jamie, though. That's kind of like my code name. Sort of. Not exactly..."

There were sufficient similarities he could understand her attempt at camaraderie. A bumbling attempt, true. But what else could he expect from someone other than who he was searching for?

Should I tell her about whom I am searching for?

No, he decided. From these few minutes interacting with her, he could deduce she was not near as skilled as whom he was searching for. Providing her with additional information would place her at jeopardy. His remaining placed her at jeopardy; yet, at the moment, he was unable to leave. He would have to... trust... that she knew her limitations sufficient to keep himself safe at present, and herself safe once he resumed his search.

"Do you want to watch some TV?" she offered. "The local evening news should be coming on soon." She correctly interpreted his tilt of head as an inquiry. "The news station aggregates information and complies them into short segments, which it then broadcasts at selected time intervals. There are three types of news stations: Local, which covers the surrounding area. Chanel 10 covers about four towns including this one. Then there's national, which aggregates news for the United States – that's the name of the country we're in. And then there's global news, which tries to pick the top news segments globally to share with their audience. Channel 10 starts with local news, then it picks up the national broadcast, and then in about two hours it'll broadcast a global news synopsis."

Ah. Information. It may be useful in avoiding detection by The Enemy. He nodded affirmative.

She smiled. Reaching for and picking up a remote, she aimed it at the far wall, and pressed a button. Sound yelped from speakers. Following the sound to its source, he found a basic flat screen monitor displaying pictures.

"Advertisers pay the television station a set amount for a few seconds to a few minutes of broadcast time. The station uses that money to pay salaries and cover the costs of their broadcast equipment," she explained.

It made logical sense, in a way. Like insuring there was sufficient fuel to keep a ship powered.

A plain looking male in an equally plain black suit appeared on the monitor. "Good evening. Today's top story: The Gutsy Galaxy Guard, or Three G as its better known, held a press conference at their Orbit Base. Among the topics, a request for information on a missing person's case."

She clicked her tongue. "That doesn't sound good."

"This man," the broadcaster continued, his image being replaced by another, "is wanted as an eye witness in connection to terrorist activity." The photograph was grainy without color depicting a man of above average height with long bangs framing his face and even longer hair. "If you have any information -"

"Oh that's really not good."

The 'news' continued; he ignored it, focusing on her. "Explain."

---

They're talking about you, and you want me to explain?

Jamie clicked her tongue to keep from saying the thought out loud. If the handsome stranger didn't recognize his own photo of him with a longer haircut than the bang-less crew cut he was sporting now, Jamie was not about to point it out. It was like an algebra problem: Too many variables and not enough data. Or just enough data to make a very, very ugly answer.

"Three G wouldn't get involved in a standard missing person case. They may handle one from time to time, but usually only if there is sufficient evidence to suggest a global conspiracy of some type," Jamie stated, buying time to think.

He's been tortured, possibly starved, and his reactions are so far off the norm of 'oh god panic' they might as well be alien – hold it, Jamie, reasoning ahead of evidence again. His reactions might be normal, for someone with training in resisting torture and interrogation techniques... which I admittedly know next to nothing about. Like algebra. Gah.

"They specifically mentioned a terrorist organization. Currently, the only one large enough to bring down Three G's full attention is BioNet."

The mystery man's reaction was instant but subtle. A clench of his fists, tightening of his eyes, and looking away from her. All easily dismissed as something else. And his reaction might have been something else all together. Jamie might profess to run a ninja detective agency, but she sure as sunshine wasn't a detective. Definitely not a ninja, either.

Alright, so, that painted a slightly better picture. Torturing a test subject – she could see BioNet doing that. If he had been a subject for Three G – and Three G had a lab close enough to walk from; it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility he could have made it from there...

Sticking with 'BioNet did it' until evidence to the contrary, Jamie decided.

But then why would Three G be involved? Outside of the obvious on wanting to insure BioNet was stopped. But... going so far as to call a press conference to look for a single individual... That was throwing some hefty resources around, even for Three G. Running a national phone bank alone would cost in the upper tens of thousands, possibly more if they funneled all communication irregardless of source through a single center. To say nothing of the manpower needed process those tips.

Forget multi million. This is a multi billion, maybe multi trillion dollar operation. And that would be just for the US.

He might not be a deity of some variety, but Deus sure had a divine price tag.

"Three G may be able to help you," Jamie said. Because she knew she was just a little fish in the ocean, and Three G was blue whale. If Three G felt Deus was important enough to bust their budget just to have a slim chance of finding him... Worse, if BioNet was involved...

But the mystery man looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. Eyes blue enough to cut right down to the soul. And said, in no uncertain terms, "No."

There was a small advantage of having received a postcard from Death confirming her imminent expiration date, Jamie supposed. It twisted her logic sufficiently to consider utterly stupid ideas like this to be thoroughly sane and rational.

"Understood. If Three G finds out about your being here, it won't be from me. I give you my word as the granddaughter of maestro Johannes Jenkins."

His eyes took her measure, boring into her in search of any falsehood. Hopefully he would find none considering Jamie was being dead serious.

Just when Jamie thought she might start to sweat, Deus nodded affirmative.

Yay! He trusts me! ...oh crap, he trusts me. How the hell do I help him?

Well, given how he was looking at his growling stomach, the first answer to that multi part question was: Get him breakfast.

"I'm going to go heat up some wheat toast. While I do that," she reached into her bedside drawer and pulled out a blank dream journal. Given she never personally used these things, but that her mother thought they were the perfect gift anyway, she had around six half dozen to spare. Plus enough colored pens to supply a small army of office secretaries for a month. "Write down in here everything you remember about who you are. Even if you don't remember anything, just trying might help. I won't look at it unless you give me your permission."

Deus nodded, taking the offered journal and packet of pens.

The last Jamie saw of him before she exited the room, Deus was still deciding with utmost concentration on which colored pen to use.

"This," Jamie said aloud to her toaster, just for the sake of it being noted aloud, "is officially the oddest yet most important job ever undertaken by the Triple J Ninja Investigative Squad."

The toaster spewed smoke.

Giving the offending kitchen gadget the stink eye, Jamie tossed the incinerated toast into the trash, and squashed the dramatic instinct to proclaim it an omen of things to come.

---

"Have the recovery teams had any luck on locating Subject 002?"

"None, more's the pity. Considering how many of our so called secure bases Prototype RCS-1 has obliterated over the past two months..."

"Yes. If we had Subject 002 still in custody, handing him over would be far more profitable than continuing our original avenue of research. Still... What data we do have is so fascinating!"

"Isn't it, though?"

A glint of red crystal shimmering in the darkness. Red as a boiling gas giant.

"The first Jewel designation bio modifications have been approved for active field use! Just another week to fine tune the current batch and -"

Red enough a splash of blood did little more than dull its shine.

Cleaning her blade on one of the dead scientists' sleeves, Renais took her time. TOM-chan had neatly disabled the security system so that she had close to two more hours before possible discovery, so long as she moved carefully and made sure none of the bodies were in obvious locations. Appearance to the contrary, she was indeed moving carefully.

After all, she hadn't unloaded a full compliment of missiles into the base. Yet.

Two months chasing down ghosts. Investigating every sensor echo and might-be sensor echo until they had finally – finally! – eliminated the echos and located the genuine signal.

J's J-Jewel.

In a case of irony, it was J's J-Jewel which was allowing TOM-kun unprecedented access into BioNet's systems. The biggest flaw of BioNet's plan to abuse the J-Jewel's power was that they had left it hooked up to this laboratory's central computer. And further, had not isolated this lab's central computer from the main cloud network.

It was a stroke of stupidity Renais swore to take ruthless advantage of.

"Renais."

"TOM-kun. If you say one word about my vitals, I will have TenRyuJin to screw with your files."

"...that will not be necessary."

Which meant either TOMORO-0117 was going to obey, or the threat was loosing its potency. A small part of her hoped for the latter. TOMORO-0117 seemed to be getting along better with the girls now that the J-Ark was acting as their primary base of operation. But if the threat was loosing potency, TOM-kun would start pushing to get her into maintenance. Yes, she was close to eighty days past due...

But they were getting close! This would be the raid that led to the raid that led to J. Renais could feel it! It... It had to be! It had to...

J is not dead. He's not dead! Renais reminded herself fiercely, even as the keyboard in front of her swam in four directions at once. If J were dead, TOMORO – the whole J-Ark would have shut down. Arma promised TOMORO would die if J died. TOMORO isn't dead, so J isn't dead, end of story. J isn't –

"Renais. I have been detected in the main BioNet network."

So much for an additional two hours of extra time. Shattering the cylinder trapping J's J-Jewel, Renais reclaimed her heart's precious stone. The stone's glitter was a pale mockery of what it had been when it had been in J's bracer.

"They are setting the remote self destruct mechanism."

Of course they would. "Pull the alarm," she ordered. It was a mercy no damn soul here deserved... but it would be something J would want her to do.

The alarm wailing loud enough to deafen her made TOMORO's note of, "Done," little more than a procedural formality.

The chaos was sufficient Renais left as she had arrived: Unnoticed, save by the recent dead.

TenRyuJin scooped her through the chilly Antarctic ocean and into the comforting hold of the J-Ark's secondary bay. Using both hands was unnecessary; the J-Ark ejecting the water from its hold wasn't that much force. Once the water was out, TenRyuJin placed Renais feet first on the floor. The combined mecha had enough wisdom to keep her vocals muted. The dip in the antarctic had washed off the majority of blood. It certainly hadn't improved Renais' overall appearance.

"I have transferred the files to the secure server," TOM-chan reported before Renais could ask. "Volfogg has confirmed receipt and begun decryption protocols. Estimated time of completion: Eighteen hours."

Renais nodded. "Maintenance."

She decided to ignore the tension leaking out of TenRyuJin's frame and the quiet hum of relief from the J-Ark's walls. She decided to ignore it all.

J's J-Jewel was in her grasp once again. And soon – not damn near soon enough, but soon – so would her Soldato.

Wait for me, J. Renais tightened her grip on the J-Jewel; held it as tight as she dared. Survive. Whatever else happens, survive, damn you! Wait for me. I will find you!

Even if it killed her.

---

"This is unacceptable."

The girl looked at him with an expression unreadable. It appeared to be a compilation of multiple emotions. Immediately recognizable was resignation, humor, and determination.

"Which part?" she demanded.

He looked pointedly at the inferior machine in front of him. Purchased for his express use so that he could more readily access the information network called the World Wide Web, it was currently displaying an error message. He would call the error impossible if not for the fact it existed.

Computer locked. Enter password. Hint: Eat first.

"Unlock this terminal."

She put an edible substance on the machine's keyboard. Proving she had not taken full leave of her sense she had insured the edible substance was on a plate before placing it on top of the keyboard. The substance was a single flat grain product wrapped around items comprised of animal proteins, vegetative matter, with a tangy sauce.

"Eat first," she ordered.

He leveled an uncompromising glare at her. She matched it with her own uncompromising look. Except... Except she went further, and stated, "I respect that you are looking for someone in dire danger. I respect that this person means more to you than your own life. However, given how you are refusing to take care of yourself, I have to wonder how much value this person truly has."

He drew a breath to stand and forcibly extract the password from her.

"Because if she truly meant so much to you, you would take better care of yourself," she continued, pressing her hand to his shoulder. It was appalling her minimal strength was enough to keep him seated. "Deus. If you don't do some general self maintenance, you will fail your mission. Which means that I will fail my mission." She released his shoulder.

He looked at the foodstuff.

"Hum," he yielded to the logic of her statement. Besides, once his internals had ceased their noisy malfunctioning, he would better be able to concentrate on narrowing down his search pattern.

Pulling out a chair from the small table he had been provided, she opened a lower end model of the computer he was using. The computer he had been provided was inferior to what he desired, yes, but at least it did not have an... attitude problem. Which was a charitable description of the antiquated lump of plastic and wires. However, it seemed to serve its function well enough when used by an operator familiar with its quirks.

"Paris, France. Red hair. Wears a coat at all times. Blue eyes. Older than I am, but not by much."

He nodded even as he bit into the wrapped foodstuff. It was not unpleasing to his senses; he simply disliked it due to its necessity. Every moment spent dealing with this foodstuff was a moment not spent on searching for her. For the one who completed his existence.

"I've finished compiling a mugshot lineup of supermodels around my age range in France. Granted, this isn't close to all the models in France. Just the ones with high publicity. You might recognize a face or two as familiar?"

Another likely dead end. Yet, it had been the best avenue of search he had been able to locate given what little he could remember. Things would have been far easier if he were still in possession of the Item...

She turned her station so that its screen faced him. "Keep eating," she ordered. "If something looks familiar, say so."

Attention more on her screen then on his meal, he continued his search.

I will find you. I will find you even if it is the last action I take.

---

Handing Mrs. Norris the pamphlet on ways to entice her cat into giving up chasing squirrels in exchange for her usual fee, Jamie bit back a sigh. The leaves were turning to their autumn coats. There was the faintest touch of chill in the air drifting northward down the mountain steps. Any elder over sixty five was proclaiming it would be the coldest winter ever when granted even half an excuse to proclaim so.

"You are shaking."

Jamie pulled her coat tighter around her. One thing Deus had in spades, besides an air of mystery, was his attention to detail.

"A little chill is all," Jamie attempted to pass it off. "Thanks for getting Mrs. Norris' cat."

A hum, dismissive rather than contemplative.

"It worked, you know," Jamie stated to insure Deus' steel trap of a mind was focused away from her physical condition, or growing lack of same. "Mrs. Norris is confirmed as believing you're my cousin. Given she's the undisputed queen of gossip, at least three quarters of the town likewise believes so."

Another hum, inquisitive this time. "Explain."

Three months living with a man of few words had taught Jamie to fill in the blanks in lightning round fashion. 'Explain' in this case meant, "Explain how the busy body believing I am your cousin in any way expedites my mission."

"This is a small town, for all Three G set up a research center near enough to hit if you throw a pebble," Jamie noted. "The grocery noticed I started buying more food, which would have been gossiped to the postman, who in turn would have noticed I had canceled my monthly scrapbooking supply subscription."

Scrapbooking was fun, but it required free capital. Trying to find someone when all there was to search with on was she has red hair and is pretty kind of ate up all her free capital and then some. Not to mention for all he professed to not want to eat, Deus could sure pack away the calories.

"If the Enemy," Jamie added the dramatic flourish the term required, "is indeed who I think it is, they won't give up on you easily. They will be looking for any rumor, no matter how small, of there being strangers. They may start with the bigger cities where its easy for a person to get... lost. But. If the town thinks you're my cousin, then there's nothing odd about you being here. No odd rumors. Nothing worth looking into whatsoever. Or in other words."

"Camouflage," Deus hummed. The "I think the theory is sound if not entirely sane" hum.

Well, either that or the, "This is taking too much time from my mission so I will no longer bother myself with it," hum. Jamie would have a better idea on which it was if Deus tried to skip a meal again. Honestly, dedication to finding this special person was one thing. Refusing to eat because it took too much time... Thank goodness she'd talked him into the efficiency of sandwiches and wraps. Use one hand to eat, the other to manipulate the computer. Re-fueling and continuing his mission all at the same time.

This was a familiar part of the path. Jamie paused to look. The bush was full of berries. This time, it really was a bird which made it rattle. Deus' footsteps paused.

"Do you still think Three G could be the Enemy?" she asked. Jamie hated asking, but...

But for all she preferred drama over reality, she was a realist. The latest check up... There wasn't time. She was just a kid. Just a kid with the good fortune of having a famously rich grandfather and an equally famous mother. What Deus needed – really needed, beyond someone to nag him into eating – was help. And that... Jamie knew she could not provide. Heck, it wouldn't be too much longer now before she wouldn't be able to nag Deus at all.

Silence. Silence which spoke louder than any words Deus might have said.

"Alright," Jamie tabled the discussion. It took her a moment to get her feet to remember how to move so that she wouldn't trip. And she deliberately kept her head down as she past Deus. He didn't know, he couldn't know, but he could probably guess.

I made sure he knows where the emergency safe is. I made sure he knows the fastest way to grandfather's estate. I've done everything I can do, except break my word and call Three G. Jamie forced one foot in front of the other and did not dare look back. At least I'll be dead when he finds out, so he won't be able to kill me? Or pity me.

Jamie could deal with a lot of things. The pity of another for her imminent demise? Yeah, no. If she had to deal with another Bible thumper declaring her fate to be the will of God, then so help her God said Bible thumper would find their copy of the Good Book shoved so far up their –

"Woolgathering?"

Shaking off the thought, Jamie bluffed, "I think we may be taking the wrong approach for your mission. They may have been born in Paris and later left. We need to narrow down where in Paris you first met her. Then, we can conference with grandfather to figure out the best method of getting you to Paris." She managed an honest grin at his confused frown. "The world police organizations tend to frown on people traveling internationally without a passport."

"World... police...?"

Jamie grabbed a notebook and a pen from her pocket and shoved both into Deus' hands. That little lost tone in his voice always showed up when a memory was perked. Given there was no telling what might trigger a memory to resurface, Jamie had made sure to carry spare notebooks in addition to her personal one.

Deus flipped open the blank notebook and started writing in that strange script again. Whatever language it was, it was not native. To Jamie it looked like some hybrid cross between Chinese, Egyptian, with some Aboriginal touches. But given Deus could read and write in English as easily as he could read and write in whatever language this was...

Maybe he's an anthropologist, Jamie wondered. A generalist anthropologist without a specific field of study and a gift for languages. So many languages that they all got tangled up in his head?

Huh. It was a theory, at least. Not much of a way to search on that theory, yet. Not much time to search on it, either.

Deus held the open notebook towards her. With the tip of his pen, he pointed to the last symbol he had drawn. "Explain."

Jamie looked at it. Blinked a few times. Looked up at Deus.

Hoo... boy. How do I explain he just drew the Three G logo when he's dead certain Three G is his enemy?

"...let's get lunch first," Jamie waffled.

Eyes narrowing in a glare, Deus pocketed the notebook. "Hum," he noted.

"I will eat because you would otherwise block my access to necessary resources; however, you will explain, even if I must take drastic action," Jamie mentally translated. Sighing she set about figuring how to tell Deus something he really didn't want to hear in a way that wouldn't wind up with her lifespan made even shorter. Or getting a killer headache. Like trying to reason with a wrecking ball sometimes...

Worst that happens, I sing at him again, Jamie decided. It had been embarrassing the first time Deus had frustrated her to the point her little 'quirk', as grandpa called it, had kicked in. At least Deus seemed to have understood her goal had not been emotional blackmail, but to get him to actually think for five minutes about how slowly killing himself by not sleeping would help no one.

Deus stopped.

Stopped... might have been an understatement. He froze, posture statue still. Except unlike a statue his muscles were not tensing up – except his fists, which he slowly drew out of the pockets of the windbreaker Jamie had insisted he wear. Deus looked... Ready to move. Ready to slide in any direction, even jump, at a split second's notice. To react... and not in a good way.

Then he eased out of the ready stance. Shook his head, as if he'd picked up ringing in his ears.

"Let's do pizza at my place," Jamie declared.

Because, damn it, that had been spooky. Like watching mom realize there was a paparazzi cameraman in the room. Even if they didn't have their cameras at the ready, they always had cameras. Some of the immoral ones even had hidden –

Jamie did not grab Deus' arm in a bid to rush back to her place all the faster. She did murmur, "I need to get something from the safe," under her breath. Easy enough to dismiss it as her talking to herself.

From the way Deus blinked, he'd caught the code word. "Very well," he stated. "So long as it does not take long."

"Right. You and your mission." And thank goodness Deus' steel trap of a mind was exactly that: A steel trap. He'd caught the code word, acknowledged it, all without letting an unsuspecting observer know they knew they were being observed. Of course, if it was BioNet...

Well. There wasn't much BioNet could do to someone who was already dead.

I won't let you down, Deus. It will be the last thing I do, but I will not let you fail!

---

So. He had finally been noticed. For being the number one warrior of the Trinary Star System, Soldato-J 002 left much to be desired. Such a worthy opponent should have noticed him within the first month missing J-Jewel or not.

Not that it mattered. By now, sufficient time had past. The antiquated J-Ark would have begun loosing power even with an Arma's interference. Without a Soldato to regulate its systems the J-Ark would begin to have structural failures. Its armor would be weakened. It would be... vulnerable.

Perfect.

Taking flight, he headed off to set the final piece of bait. It was almost time now. Almost time to end... to take... everything!

---

Flexing her fist, Renais tugged on the modifications to her GS-Ride. The port holding J's J-Jewel appeared to still be holding the Jewel fast. The J-Jewel pulsed in a comforting beat echoing in time with her G-Stone.

"The modification is still stable?" TOM-chan inquired. Like he always inquired since the day Renais had consented to his updating her GS-Ride.

"Looks like." Renais ran her fingers over J's J-Jewel. It fit perfectly tucked against her G-Stone. It would fit best in J's gauntlet. But for now, her own life force amplified by her G-Stone was sufficient to keep J's J-Jewel functioning. "You?" Renais inquired.

"I remain at ninety six percent functionality. The J-Ark is maintaining ninety percent functionality." TOM-chan sounded intrigued, and a little surprised, as he noted, "KouRyu and AnRyu have been vital to insuring the J-Ark continues to function during J's absence. They have been helpful to my own stability as well." The alien AI's voice quieted as he admitted, "The probability of my continual functioning at such a high level without a Soldato to act as regulator is less than forty percent."

Renais tapped the closest wall with her knuckle.

"Indeed so," TOMORO-0117 acknowledged the unspoken censure.

"What's the report on our last data raid?" Renais requested, slipping into her cold coat. Today seemed to call for the classic pink and gold look.

"BioNet has increased their data security protocols significantly." TOMORO's voice followed Renais as she headed for the command deck. "Approximately fourteen percent of the data was corrupted by ingrained malware coding before countermeasures could be deployed. Based upon the remaining data fragments, Three G Intelligence Division estimates four Priority Green target locations. Cross referencing of tips to the hotline is underway; however, the probability of an accurate tip having been reporting has diminished significantly."

Considering the hotline had been up and running for three months now... Yes, the odds were slim.

"Guy has been dispatched to investigate one of the Priority Green targets. It is located within striking distance of Three G / NASA Joint Research Laboratory #5."

Renais brushed her hand over the command console rousing it from sleep mode. The symbols on the console flickered from Red Planet Standard to French at the glow of J's J-Jewel. The J-Ark's comforting hum of energy tickled up her boots like a cat brushing against her leg in a bid for attention.

"Papa was running some experiments there," Renais mused.

"Affirmative. The experiments were in relation to developing a proper J-Jewel duplicate and JJ-Ride system." A short synopsis of the experiments in question blinked up onto the console. "Volfogg believes Guy has the lowest chance of detection by enemy forces as he is known to accompany Dr. Liger on unannounced visits."

Che. That meant papa would be...

"Guy will not allow harm to befall your father," TOMORO-0117 stated.

No, her cousin wouldn't. Renais shifted her focus away from Guy and papa's mission to the other three likely targets. Curious, she double checked. "These are all in North America?"

"Correct. It appears BioNet has been shifting focus from the European and Asian markets to the North and South Americas for some time." TOMORO paused so as to pull up a full map. "Three G Intelligence estimates a forty three percent disruption to BioNet's network thus far. If the current pace of assaults continues, an estimated additional fourteen percent of disruption is expected."

"Just fourteen?" Renais allowed herself a grim smirk. "I'd say we could do close to twenty, at least."

"I have plotted the most expedient route for targeting the estimated bases." TOMORO-0117 displayed the route on screen.

"KouRyu. AnRyu. Ready to kick some BioNet ass?"

The main screen illuminated, displaying the J-Ark's mecha bay. Holding a thumb's up, AnRyu reported, "All systems green, Renais-nee-chan!" while KouRyu giggled, "Let's go bust 'em up!"

"Ah." Renais brushed the controls for the communication system. "Three G Main Order Room. J-Ark ready to launch for today's round of assaults."

The screen switched to showing Kaidou Sakura. "Acknowledged. Good hunting, Renais-san. TOM-kun."

"Please do not worry needlessly, Kaidou Sakura," TOMORO-0117 requested. "J will be found alive. Additionally, Renais and I will not take unnecessary risks during today's operation."

Kaidou Sakura sighed, but did not appear any less concerned. "Still. Be careful."

"Don't worry, Kaidou-kaa-san!" KouRyu chirped. "AnRyu and I will take good care of them!"

Another sigh as Kaidou Sakura cut the main communication channel. The standard update feed was still active, of course.

"I don't think that helped much, KouRyu," AnRyu noted.

"Launching," TOMORO warned – which neatly cut KouRyu short of commenting further than audibly pouting.

Leaning forward to brace herself against the command console, Renais grinned. She couldn't not grin. The power rippling through the J-Ark was near tangible; the touch of TOMORO-0117 through J's J-Jewel was electrifying. It was small wonder J could stand up here for hours on end content to do nothing more than stare at the sky. Maybe, once J was back where he should be, Renais would let papa talk her into the Fusion mecha he had been developing for her. Then she and J could...

But there would be time for such musings later. At the J-Ark's leisurely pace, their ETA to the first target was twenty minutes. Just enough time to head down to the bay and prep for drop. Renais touched J's J-Jewel; felt its comforting hum. Renais could feel it in her bones: Just a little bit longer and she would find J again.

And the second he got out of recovery, Reanis swore to kick his ass for scaring her like this!

If Renais had been a bit more superstitious, she might have thought J's J-Jewel... winced?

...right. Of course it had. Setting the thought aside, Renais focused on getting ready. BioNet wasn't going to just hand over what they were looking for, after all.

"Renais!"

Renais almost dropped the extra ammunition she'd been procuring. "TOMORO!" Renais snapped, twisting to look at the bay ceiling for lack of a better location to glare. Sucking in a breath to give TOMORO a piece of her mind, Renais yelled –

"Confirmed sighting!"

Her shotgun fell from numbed fingers. KouRyu and AnRyu were clamoring for additional details. Something about Lab #5 and a civilian and it didn't matter. Renais was deaf to it. Confirmed sighting... A confirmed sighting of J!

"Full speed, ES Missiles, whatever gets us there fastest!" Renais ordered.

"Roger! Arrival time, two minutes!"

Confirmed sighting... A confirmed sighting...!

J! I'm coming, J!

---

Guy couldn't help it: He stared, jaw hanging slightly agape. He had seen J in civilian clothing before; it had become standard practice for J to switch to 'civilian gear' when not on the J-Ark or on duty. But J with short hair?

If it hadn't been for his sensitivity as an Evolunder, Guy would have walked right past him without a second thought. Even then, Guy had to make physical contact to be sure it wasn't some kind of setup. A simple 'oops' as he walked past, using tripping over his feet as a pretext to bounce into J.

And it was J. No other living soul connected to a J-Jewel or a G-Stone felt quite so... feathery. Like a pile of goose down covering the glint of razor wire. Except Renais lately had picked up the same feathery feeling, save it was half subsumed by her fiery aura.

The civilian girl who had been walking next to J tugged on the sleeve of his windbreaker. To Guy she was babbling, "Sorry about my cousin, mister, we should probably get-"

"I... know you."

The girl stopped mid word. Showing some sense, she stepped back so as to get a clear view of both J and Guy. Only, instead of looking at J, she began to size up Guy.

"He's with Three G," she said.

Guy registered J's kick to his face after Guy blocked it. Training had him stepping back to counterattack while his heart had him shouting, "J!"

The civilian girl throwing her jacket at him distracted Guy long enough for the girl to forcibly grab J by the back of his windbreaker and haul him off down the street. Or would have: J was hearing none of the girl's demands to withdraw. Slipping out of the windbreaker, J lunged forward.

At least he doesn't have a knife? Guy thought, amused despite the situation. It brought to mind the good old days when the worst Guy had to fear was a Zondarian, and J had answered to another name. Though given his hostile reaction –

"Soldato-J 002!" Guy tried. Even as a Machine King, J had remembered that much of his past.

J paused, more to shift his stance and have a better vector to lunge at Guy than in response to Guy's shout.

"Oi! What the hell did BioNet do to you, huh? Not even the Thirty One Primevals could get you to forget your pride as a warrior! Not like this!"

That – did cause J to pause. Wincing, his eyes shifted off of Guy.

The civilian intervened.

"Itai!" Guy yelped at the impact to his head. Who knew a windbreaker could double as a slingshot, or that decorative flowerpots were such great ammunition?

"Come on!" the civilian ordered, forcibly grabbing J by the arm and not taking 'no' for an answer.

By time Guy got the dirt out of his eyes, the civilian was gone... and so was J.

"This is Guy!" They couldn't have gone too far. This town was just big enough to house the non-essential personnel from the lab. "I found J! Get Renais out here, fast!" The short path between two buildings led to a wall, which Guy lept over without much thought. Something this short wouldn't slow down J –

But it might slow down the civilian, Guy realized upon landing.

Jumping up to the top of the wall, Guy took his bearings. Right now he needed to think as though he were dealing with civilians, not with a Soldato. And civilians –

"Guy!" Uncle Liger's voice crackled over the radio. "Renais is inbound on the J-Ark!"

"Patch me through to her," Guy ordered. Come on, come on...! There weren't that many places for two people to hide!

...the J-Ark, Guy decided, had either wonderful timing, or horrific timing. He couldn't tell. Then again, at least Renais had enough sense to ride an ES Missile down to ground level rather than jump down with one of the Dragon mechs.

Riding down on an ES Missile. Making sense, Guy wondered. And resolved to find whomever at BioNet had engineered this travesty of a year, and hit them. Hard. Or better yet, let Renais hit them.

"Details!" Renais demanded, almost but not quite giving in to her first instinct: That being to grab Guy by the collar of his shirt and shake the answers out of him. The ES Missile sailed harmlessly through an ES Window without damaging so much as a speck of dust. The pigeons on the other hand –

Wait. There aren't any pigeons!

"There!"

Renais whirled moving faster than Guy. She was off the wall, rolling as she landed so as to not loose momentum, and running down the back alley at a full gallop. Guy was slower by virtue of having been nearly shoved off the wall by Renais's enthusiasm.

Another flowerpot – what was it with small towns and keeping flowerpots right outside their shops? – sailed towards them. Renais bat it away with a smooth backhand.

"Civilian," Guy had time to note.

Renais paused, barely. Her cold coat went active in a burst of fog. It was no surprise that her shotgun was deployed. At least she was aiming it at the ground?

"Where is he?" Renais demanded.

The civilian was leaning against a building's wall, breathing heavily. "Safe," she answered. If she were frightened by Renais' furry she had guts enough not to show it.

"Oi! BioNet is looking for him!" Guy pointed out. The civilian's cobalt eyes narrowed. Outside of continuing to breathe hard the civilian did not react. "Look... You need to tell us where he is."

"Safe," the civilian repeated. Her gaze shifted to Renais. "Were you born in Paris, France?"

Renais gave the civilian a searching look. "Yes," she answered at length.

"Vanilla ice cream with strawberries?"

"Is my favorite flavor." Renais put away her shotgun; her voice was soft as she asked, "He's been looking for me, hasn't he?"

"He hasn't stopped. Not even to eat." The civilian's smile was mixed with the sparkle of tears in her eyes – and she was still breathing heavily. Something about that nudged Guy's instincts. "1812 Overture Street. Ask for Deus. Go alone, or he will run." A cough escaped through a rueful smile. "He doesn't like Three G."

"Thank you," Renais stated, heartfelt. To Guy she said, "Get her to a hospital." And was off running before Guy could ask why.

The dust from Renais' boots settled in time with the civilian collapsing.

---

"My mission is to insure you complete your mission! So when I say run, damn it, run!"

He ran. Part of him balked at the action. He was –

"Not even the Thirty One Primevals could get you to forget your pride as a warrior!"

The pain in his head was tremendous. Yet for his mission he would ignore it. His mission required that he run. That he abandon his comrade to her fate.

This planet is finished.

No! This planet was alive. The Enemy did not have the one he was searching for! The appearance of the ship above was proof enough! Though how it was proof, how he could know... The memories were within the Item. Echoes of them remained, which is what caused his pain. The mission was all consuming. He could not abandon his mission. Not even if it cost his ally her existence.

There was someone at the door to base.

Slowing, he took what cover he could in the thin shrubbery. Whomever it was had likewise just arrived. Female human by the shape of her. Wearing a pink coat with golden trim. Red hair long enough to reach mid back. Golden boots. A gold bracer on her right arm –

In the bracer, the Item was tucked next to its mate.

"Renais."

The name fell unbidden from his lips. The woman at the door to base swiveled towards him. Eyes as blue as the sky found him without hesitation. They brightened, turning her beauty ethereal; making her more haunting and desired then the sky above.

"I've been looking for you," she said, smiling, walking towards him.

"R-Renais," he managed.

My mission is complete.

The sound of Renais calling his name was the last sound his systems registered before the void swallowed him whole.

---

Well. This was... unexpected.

Observing from secure shielding, he watched Three G collect their missing member. This should not have happened for another month, when all the pieces were truly in place. Damn their persistence in checking everywhere! And damn his so called 'allies of convenience' for not securing their data properly. It was their fault this had come to pass. There was no other explanation for this contrived convenience.

The situation might still be salvageable. If he escalated his timetable... But then, what would he use for bait? The original plan called for him swooping in to kidnap the woman Soldato-J 002 had become obsessed with. To hold her hostage and force him to make as degrading a choice as possible.

Hum? Cain's Legacy was on the move? What for?

Oh. Oh how terrible. It looked as though the human Soldato-J 002 had been sheltering with had become ill. Oh how very dreadful.

For Soldato-J 002.

Using this particular bait would work out all the better. Drive a wedge between Soldato-J 002 and his woman. Drive a wedge between Soldato-J 002 and his 'allies'. Drive them all to the brink of their destruction!

Then, all he would need to do, is give them a... push.

Cackling madly, he set to escalating his timetable.

---

The hospital room was the most normal part of this situation. That... was really telling, actually, given this wasn't a normal hospital room by a long shot.

Bed, check. Beeping monitors of all sorts of flavors, check. Nurses and doctors on their rounds walking past the window to her right, likewise check. Massive window to her left showing off the vastness of space bisected by the silver beauty that had to be an alien spaceship?

Jamie could not yank her eyes away from its beauty. Like a hurricane from a distance or a bald eagle in flight, the ship drew her in. There was power etched into it like a tangible force. She had to swallow to keep the notes of its song from bubbling up. Maybe she could find photos of this pretty ship. Make a scrapbook of it. A scrapbook wouldn't be near as beautiful as its song... but it would give grandfather a place to start. He was good at turning the songs around him into presentable pieces; at focusing the music around him into a form others could hear without distorting his immediate surroundings in the process.

...was it just her, or had the ship winked? A faint glimmer of brighter light along the glimmering red decorative panels bisecting the ship horizontally in half.

"Ah, you're awake!"

Jamie managed to pull her eyes from the ship long enough to acknowledge the buxom blond nurse walking in. A nod was all she could do before her eyes were drawn back to the ship.

The nurse laughed, agreeing, "Its beautiful, isn't it? Like looking at a lounging tiger."

Huh... Yeah, that seemed pretty accurate. A tiger didn't need to have its claws bared for it to be clear its claws were there. Even knowing it was a wild animal capable of turning her into dinner with a single lick of its chops could not repress Jamie's urge to reach out and give it a scratch right under the chin. Such a cute little lethal critter!

"Do you want a tour?"

Sufficiently startled, Jamie looked dead at the nurse. Her bright blue eyes twinkled in merriment as she nodded affirmative.

"Sure...?" Jamie answered.

Because seriously, she couldn't be talking about taking a tour of the pretty spaceship. That'd just be absurd. Now, a tour of whatever space station this was... That seemed reasonable.

"Great! I'll be right back~!" the nurse sing-songed as she bounced out the door.

Probably Three G Orbit Base, Jamie reasoned. Though why she would have been brought up here instead of the the county general hospital. A matter of expediency? It sounded right... Easier to interrogate her if she was hospitalized at their base. Also would be easier to avoid the press. One nurse looking for a few extra bucks in his or her pocket and the paparazzi would be all over.

And interrogate her they would. Three G had been spending billions of dollars trying to locate Deus. Given Three G had saved the universe at one point, it was obvious they had working brains. Which meant they'd add up two and two and come up with five.

I was hiding Deus. They are not going to care why.

No adult would. Here she was, a fourteen year old girl, who had done something rather stupid. Something that could have gotten her killed!

Jamie snorted at the though. Given how her limbs were threatening to tremble, the doctors' prognostication of not making it past Christmas seemed right on track. Stupid freaking Huntington's...

Setting aside her aggravation so as to avoid wallowing in self-pity, Jamie focused back on the ship. Which had gotten bigger... A lot bigger. Swallowing the window whole, bigger.

"I don't think she's been awake for very long," the nurse's voice echoed through the door first. The door hissed as it opened again. "You've got visitors~!" A friendly if conspiratorial whisper, "They were already on their way over, you know. Somebody's been poking around in the ward's computer systems again."

"Oi, Swan, enough."

Jamie turned away from the very big – very big – ship. Walking in behind the nurse was the pretty red haired woman in the pink and gold winter coat Deus had been searching for. And behind her was – Deus. In more or less the same outfit she had last seen him wearing: Long sleeve plain deep red shirt and blue jeans. Though maybe it was her imagination, but his hair did seem a bit longer.

On the one hand, if Jamie did not want to endure further frustrations, she should keep her mouth shut. On the other – she was going to be chewed out by professionals at some point. Might as well inject some humor into the day while she still could.

"Did he remember to eat?" Jamie asked the beautiful redhead. "He tends to forget to do that. A lot."

An elegant eyebrow arched upwards, blue eyes sparkling in amusement as the woman turned to Deus. "Does he now," she inquired. Her voice was as pretty as she was with just a hint of a French accent.

"Yep!" Jamie noticed Deus was starting to blush. Considering Deus deserved it and the woman needed to know this, Jamie informed her, "I lost count of how many times I had to password protect, hide, or otherwise tie him down to anywhere away from the computer to get him to take fifteen minutes away from his 'mission' to find you and take care of himself a little. And let's not get into how I had to convince him sleeping was not a suggestion."

"She sang," Deus noted. Trying to take a gamble on Jamie's embarrassment over her quirk, probably.

Jamie twisted what should have been an embarrassment for her right around to become an embarrassment for Deus: "Frere Jacques works best. He's out by the second refrain."

"I'll keep that in mind," she hummed. And that was not a look Jamie wanted to analyze too closely.

Deus blushed, finding a spot on the floor that demanded his immediate attention.

The blond nurse hid a tittering laugh behind her hand before deciding to ride to Deus' rescue. "Actually, I was on my way to let you both know! Jessica-chan would like a tour of your ship, if that's alright?"

"Jamie," Deus corrected. At roughly the same second the words registered and Jamie was demanding, "Your ship?!"

Deus' attention turned back to her. "Correct."

Yielding to the drama demanded of the moment, Jamie rubbed at a non existent headache. "Your ship," she repeated. "That explains so much."

"Oh?"

Which was a variation on Deus' hum translating to, "Explain in further detail."

Well. Not like Three G hadn't already figured this part out. Sighing, Jamie pointed at Deus. "Three G was running a multi billion dollar public awareness campaign to try and locate you. Mind, multi billion is a conservative guess on my part."

"Oh!" from the buxom blond nurse. "But if you knew we were looking –!"

"I gave my word. I may not be able to keep it often," Jamie conceded. "I'm fourteen years old. If grandfather overrules my judgment, I will abide by his decision. I respect him too much to do otherwise. However, I figured one way or another I could keep a..." Jamie kept her voice from cracking, barely. "A final promise. A final mission objective."

"A final... mission objective?" the nurse echoed.

The beautiful redhead crossed her arms and humphed. "You," she pointed at Jamie, "have spent far too long dealing with him," she jerked her thumb over to Deus.

"Given my mission was to make sure he completed his mission, spending way too much time was inevitable," Jamie shrugged. She didn't dare elaborate on how having a housemate had made certain things easier as the months had past. Simple human company had been... nice.

"Right." Dry humor sparkled in her voice as the woman pulled out a familiar looking business card. "Jessica Jamie Jenkins. Owner and proprietor of the Triple J Ninja Investigation Squad."

Jamie matched her smile with an equally dry grin. "Grandfather overruled my first idea of going with, 'I Want To Be A Detective Because I Watch Too Many Murder Mysteries' as a company name. Said it wasn't flashy enough."

"Oh my. I'm afraid I have to agree with your grandfather," the buxom blond jumped in on the joke.

"Taking care of him was a few steps above finding lost cats," the beautiful red noted. "And more dangerous. If BioNet had located you before Three G -"

"I'm already dead," Jamie cut her off. "Worst they could have done was torture me past the brink of sanity." Jamie swallowed before stating, "I would have bitten off my own tongue before then." I hope.

Deus was looking at her. It... wasn't a good look. His tone of voice as he demanded, "Explain," wasn't good either. It was the tone promising controlled mayhem unless he received an immediate answer.

"Huntington's disease," a source-less computer-sounding voice announced. "Terminal." The word bounced like a weighted balloon. "Estimated time frame remaining before termination: Three months."

Deus' already chilly glare dropped another degree.

"There's a reason I told you the combination to the emergency safe," Jamie noted, voice squeaking out a musical note. Expressing her terror at being so scrutinized would not win her any boons – and it really wouldn't get Deus to quit glaring.

The woman touched Deus' shoulder. His glare didn't defrost, but he did shift it so that Jamie wasn't being turned into a Popsicle. Having sufficiently caught Deus' attention, the woman walked forward towards Jamie's bed. Pulling a plain manila envelope from her pocket, she put it on the stand next to the bed.

"That is for saving his life."

The slap came out of nowhere and hurt worse than even when Jamie's toes had been stepped on by a full grown horse. The woman waited until Jamie's ears stopped ringing to state, "That is for how you saved his life. Even if he could do nothing – especially if he could do nothing – not trusting your ally with vital information was stupid."

There was a full description of what I had, the deed to the condo, and enough cash to get him through a full year in the emergency safe! Jamie wanted to protest. One look at the woman's burning gaze kept the words sealed behind Jamie's lips.

"Trusting me at all when my memory was compromised was likewise foolish," Deus noted.

Yeah, well, having you make a run for it would have been even worse, Jamie thought but didn't dare say.

"And would you have stayed put if she had called us?" the woman demanded.

A wry grin was answer enough.

"So. On that score, she gets a pass," the woman decided. She shoved her hands back into her coat pocket. "Likewise full marks for mimicking TOM-chan enough you actually took care of yourself."

"Passable marks for first aid," the computerized voice chimed. "Were you a human, J, initial first response would have been sufficient to insure zero lasting damage contingent upon then receiving professional medical assistance."

"Negative marks for hitting Guy with a flowerpot!" the nurse chirped.

"Passing marks," Deus countered. "The cyborg should have been able to dodge."

"We'll just see what Mikoto has to say about that," the nurse stated, grinning. The kind of grin that meant the Grim Reaper was taking measurements for coffins. Brr.

The woman exchanged a look with Deus. Deus arched a speaking eyebrow. The computerized voice suggested, "Tactical retreat advised?"

Jamie had a split second to think, Holy crap they can move! The woman had skipped back, grabbing a wheelchair from where the nurse had stashed it. Deus had Jamie scooped into his arms, and into the chair, and further out the door. All of it had happened so fast Jamie hadn't even had time to blink.

And not a single person dared to stop them, even though Jamie was clearly being kidnapped. Maybe it was because Deus and the woman were sharing quiet cackles and donning matching shit eater grins. Heck, if Jamie were faced with them, she'd go find a nice place to hide until the dual tornado had passed, too.

A different door behind them hissed closed. Startled, Jamie tried to turn in her chair to look at it. That hadn't been a normal sounding hiss at all. More like –

"Vacuum sealed," the woman explained.

Jamie blinked. Looked down the corridor. Realized the corridor was a clear plastic tube with the exception of its floor. A clear plastic tube leading away from one airlock towards another. She might have meeped.

"You did ask for a tour," was the minx grin from the woman.

Who in their right goddamn minds thinks giving me a tour of an alien spaceship is what "would you like a tour" means?!

Swiftly Jamie was coming to the realization Deus and his lady friend were many things. In their right minds was not one of them!

"J. Is it possible Jamie-san does not know who you are?" inquired the computerized voice from before.

"Likely." Said in a tone of voice that was begging for a cream pie to the face. Or at least something shoved in his face. Smug and friendly all at once, and all the more aggravating for it.

"Proper introductions sound in order," the woman grinned.

Doomed. I think, Jamie figured. Well, there were worse ways to dodge an impending interrogation... Maybe. Oh... boy.

---

TOMORO-0117 watched with extreme care as the civilian human Jessica Jamie Jenkins maneuvered throughout the J-Ark. It appeared to be a matter of pride that she not remain within the wheelchair for longer than absolutely necessary. Or perhaps less pride and more a sense of self preservation. Renais was in a particularly quixotic mood. As usual her G-Stone was affecting J's J-Jewel and in turn affecting J himself. The two combined were sufficient to cause concern in those without training on par with Three G support staff.

However, Jessica Jamie Jenkins appeared to be handling the situation sufficiently. At a minimum her vitals were all within tolerable limits. Suffering from mild shock at most.

Given how KouRyu and AnRyu could shock even the most hardened of warriors, mild shock was to be expected.

"So you're the one who kept J safe for Renais-nee-chan and TOM-kun!" KouRyu giggled. The pink menace did not allow Jessica Jamie Jenkins sufficient time to recover before plowing on to her next question of, "How come you picked a code name for him of Deus? Did he fall out of the sky?"

Did he fall out of the – of all the inane questions to ask! KouRyu and AnRyu both knew full well J could no more fall out of the sky then the J-Ark could.

"It beat calling him, 'Mr. Hey You.' Plus," Jessica Jamie Jenkins shrugged, tightening her grip on the cane Renais had handed her upon entry, "its dramatic. If there's one thing the neighbors know, its that my family has a history of drama."

Yes. Given TOMORO-0117 had discovered ninety three articles under the tabloid substrata of news related to Jessica Jamie Jenkin's mother's estimated love-life within the past six months alone, the statement appeared accurate. By comparison, Dr. Liger boasted fifteen articles in total.

"Oh," KouRyu exaggerated the sound.

"You have our most sincere thanks, Jamie-san." AnRyu bent down on one knee so as to extend her hand to Jessica Jamie Jenkins. The human took AnRyu's offered index finger; the closest AnRyu could get to a proper handshake. "J-dono is difficult to work with; however, it is that same difficulty which improves mission performance by several fold. He is irreplaceable. Thank you for protecting him when we could not."

"You're welcome?"

TOMORO-0117 emitted a digital snort. Dealing with KouRyu and AnRyu was confusing, even for him! That Jessica Jamie Jenkins was able to endure even ten minutes' worth of conversation with the Dragon-class AIs indicated a high mental resilience to unusual stimuli.

Or as Renais might hypothesize, Jessica Jamie Jenkins was past the point of, quote giving a damn end quote. Her continuing functions were on a countdown similar to how Kaidou Sakura had faced potential termination due to cancer. Save, unlike Kaidou Sakura's foe, Jessica Jamie Jenkins faced an enemy for which there was no known counter.

It was... frustrating. This human had assisted J for no other reason than because he was in need. By all apparent indicators, Jessica Jamie Jenkins did not know who J was. Who any of them were. Surely there were other options she could have selected. But instead she had chosen to spend her remaining functional time assisting J in his amnesia driven mission. TOMORO-0117 owed this human a debt for which no repayment could be calculated.

They were moving towards the command deck. TOMORO-0117 adjusted the flooring temporarily to allow for easier maneuverability. After a momentary internal debate, TOMORO-0117 adjusted the lighting on the command deck to its lowest setting. The deck was now dim as though under moonlight; sufficient to avoid a missed step, but otherwise impossible for human eyes to register details. A dramatic entrance scenario.

J's memories were clear: There had been no benefit for Jessica Jamie Jenkins to allow J to shelter at her domicile. Instead she had simply chosen to assist – because she could. For a non-Three G member, Jessica Jamie Jenkins was peculiar.

"The bridge?" Jessica Jamie Jenkins guessed.

"The command deck," J corrected.

Renais tapped her knuckles against a sensory panel, G-Stone pulsing with her amusement. Independent verification TOMORO-0117 had made the correct choice in arranging the scene.

Jessica Jamie Jenkins's look was amused. "Enter stage left, the captain of the ship?"

"Hum."

Odd. J was amused. TOMORO-0117 would go so far as to say J was relaxed. Perhaps it was due to three months (roughly) of familiarity with Jessica Jamie Jenkins; or moreover, the camaraderie which had been built between them. Though her methods had been far off the mark, Jessica Jamie Jenkins had always moved with a singular mission goal in mind: To assist J in the completion of his mission. Jessica Jamie Jenkins was an ally of sorts.

A friend.

J had never had a friend unaffiliated with Three G. Such a phenomenon required further study.

J walked past Renais and Jessica Jamie Jenkins. Stopping under a specific light panel, he turned to face the watching duo. Renais's G-Stone was pulsing in impish anticipation. Jessica Jamie Jenkins had an intrigued expression. J pulled down the sleeve of his civilian gear so as to expose his bracer and J-Jewel to casual view.

"My name."

J triggered Equip. To human eyes a blinding flash of red light covered the transition between the civilian gear being stored and his armor Equipping. TOMORO-0117 brought the specific light panel illuminated to full brightness, making sure the beam was narrowed to function as a spotlight. J paused to insure Jessica Jamie Jenkins's eyesight had adjusted to the increase in light.

"Is Soldato-J! And my ship."

J jumped. TOMORO-0117 brought the command deck's lights to normal brightness so that Jessica Jamie Jenkins could see the wholly unnecessary flourish J added to his jump.

"Is the J-Ark!" J announced as he landed behind his control console, crossing his arms loosely over his chest as was his habit. TOMORO-0117 sent an equally unnecessary pulse of energy through the command deck to set its circuitry sparkling.

Jessica Jamie Jenkins laughed; would have applauded had her hands not been visibly shaking. Renais was looking fondly at J; likewise amused, though in a way different than Jessica Jamie Jenkin's amusement. Their amusement was infectious in a way. J smirked, pleased with himself for eliciting such reactions. J's J-Jewel was radiant with his mirth.

"Who handled the lights?" Jessica Jamie Jenkins asked, giggling.

"I did." TOMORO-0117 switched the main screen to show a visual of the main computer core. "Salutations. I am TOMORO-0117. I am the main computer of the J-Ark."

"A pleasure." Jessica Jamie Jenkins did a half curtsy. Interesting. "If you ever need a hobby, contact my grandfather. He's always looking for technicians with exceptional timing. Though getting you through a theater's door might be a bit problematic..."

"Somewhat," TOMORO-0117 agreed. Jessica Jamie Jenkins giggled again. "J has briefed me on several of the tactics you employed to insure his status was optimal. I would like to discuss them with you at length. Specifically, the incident involving the nursery rhyme is perplexing."

"Not half as perplexing as having watched him fall asleep while standing up," Jessica Jamie Jenkins quipped.

To a civilian unfamiliar with a cyborg's limitations, or lack of same, that would be a perplexing phenomena. TOMORO-0117 continued, "I am further informed your personal computing terminal is below acceptable performance values. I am in the process of building an adequate replacement."

Jessica Jamie Jenkins began to reply with a polite word of thanks. Her vocal processing was overridden by auditory input registering causing her to sputter. "You're building me a computer?!"

Odd. Based on vocal stress patterns Jessica Jamie Jenkins seemed to believe building a computer was somehow incorrect protocol. TOMORO-0117 could procure one through other means, true. However, an 'off the shelf model' would be lacking. "It is a simple procedure," TOMORO-0117 began to explain.

"Doubtless so!" Jessica Jamie Jenkins interrupted. "But keeping in mind I am going to be dead by Christmas building a computer is overkill!"

Renais chuckled. J hummed, dismissive. TOMORO-0117 felt it necessary to clarify, "Hardly. The single point of difficulty has been insuring the computer's specs do not exceed acceptable variances."

"And the software," Renias noted, amused.

Well. Yes. Dealing with inferior software was aggravating. It brought into stark relief the skills of Kousuke Entouji. His programming skills were not to Red Planet standard, but at least they were to a tolerable level of inferiority. Whomever had designed this 'Windows' packet of zeros and ones was in dire need of a refresher on basic operating system programming.

Was that music the microphones were picking up? Low, almost subliminal. A moment to triangulate and the source was located as – Jessica Jamie Jenkins?

"Do you believe I would be offended?" J asked.

Visibly wrestling with an emotion Jessica Jamie Jenkins swallowed. The near subliminal music went silent.

"Hum." J physically turned to look at the main screen which was now displaying sunrise over Earth. His full attention was still turned on the civilian human. "Jessica Jamie Jenkins. You have met all persons who are currently aboard my ship. If you believe any one of us could be so swayed by noise -"

"Noise?!" Jessica Jamie Jenkins hissed.

"Then truly, I am insulted," J continued without pause.

TOMORO-0117 picked up a text transmission sent by J to Renais' glasses. You may wish to lower your hearing sensitivity.

Renais quirked an eyebrow; reached for her GS-Ride gauntlet and the micro keyboard built inside to type a reply.

And instead stepped back, startled, as Jessica Jamie Jenkins opened her mouth – and sound suffused the command deck.

TOMORO-0117 did the computer equivalent of blinking. The confusion lasted for a microsecond. Then TOMORO-0117 launched a full compliment of analytic software. The impromptu musical performance had no lyrics; it was straightforward sound. Harmonic wavelengths matched stress patterns indicating frustration, happiness, with a fractional indication of sadness. Humming to himself TOMORO-0117 recorded everything for his later – hum. Enjoyment was the best terminology. Processing data was his secondary function. Perhaps Dr. Ligar would grant permission to access the Mic Sounders sound software.

...what? The harmonics within the human norm auditory range adjusted marginally, but the sub harmonics were... They were harmonizing with the J-Ark's subliminal harmonics! No, more than that... TOMORO-0117 would need to confirm his initial findings with a detailed analysis but based on what readings the J-Jewel and G-Stone were broadcasting, it appeared as though Jessica Jamie Jenkins was capable of modulating her voice so as to resonate with the Infinite Information Circuits' harmonics. Fascinating! Truly fascinating!

The musical session was woefully short at three minutes forty seven seconds in length. But the fascinating data it had generated would take a factor of ten times longer to analyze to its fullest.

The final note trailed off in such a fashion as to give the impression the singer were walking away, or 'walking off stage' as it were. Jessica Jamie Jenkins held herself still until the last ringing echo faded. And then leaned heavily against her borrowed cane, breath control yielding to gasps for air. Either singing was as great a physical exertion as it appeared or Jessica Jamie Jenkins was in greater physical distress than she had allowed to be visible. Or some combination of both. The answer would require further research into human physiology.

Renais emitted an appreciative whistle, disrupting the echoing silence. TOMORO-0117 found himself concurring. It was one data point to have J's biased report of the 'quirk' Jessica Jamie Jenkins had utilized to convenience J to rest. It was another data point altogether to witness said quirk in action. In a way, it reminded TOMORO-0117 of certain Dragon-class AIs physical inability to land properly: A not entirely negative trait if adjusted for accordingly.

"Nobody tell grandfather," Jessica Jamie Jenkins requested once her breathing was moderately normalized.

"What would there be to tell?" J inquired. Jessica Jamie Jenkins leveled a passable glare at him. J emitted a 'humph' within the wavelength of being smug.

"Inquiry," TOMORO-0117 stated once Jessica Jamie Jenkins had regained normal breathing. "Was it a conscious decision to harmonize with the J-Ark's systems?"

Based upon Jessica Jamie Jenkins's blush, TOMORO-0117 registered the answer as negative.

"Harmonize with the...?" Renais visibly reassessed her initial impression of Jessica Jamie Jenkins. "The J-Ark's systems are in the subsonic range."

Jessica Jamie Jenkins closed her eyes. "Listen. If the music you sing does not match the music of the world around you, the dissonance will distract from the whole. Listen. For the closer your song matches the world around you the greater the harm one can cast upon the audience's soul. Remember always music is not a tool of war. It is a tool of healing. Listen. So you might know the world below and the soda sky above and your place within it all."

Renais blinked. From J's lack of reaction, nonsensical philosophy was as normal for Jessica Jamie Jenkins as emotionally triggered outbursts of music.

Blushing as she tugged on her ear in a nervous twitch, Jessica Jamie Jenkins noted, "Grandfather's a little weird."

TOMORO-0117 emitted a hum within human auditory range. "Elementary physics. All particles vibrate at given frequencies. J." TOMORO-0117 paused so that J could acknowledge aloud; it seemed... rude? Yes. It seemed rude to otherwise converse in a method Jessica Jamie Jenkins could not be party to. "Based upon this demonstration, it is probable it was not the nursery rhyme tune itself which triggered emergency rest mode, but the tune in conjunction with Jessica Jamie Jenkins's innate ability to harmonize with charged electronics."

"So she hit a sweet spot that vibrated the J-Jewel charge in J's backup power?" Renais inquired, asking clarification more for Jessica Jamie Jenkins then for herself. Jessica Jamie Jenkins appeared unable to follow the conversation.

"In the simplest terms. Yes," TOMORO-0117 confirmed.

Jessica Jamie Jenkins paused. Blinked twice. Pointed at J and demanded, "You run on triple-A batteries?"

J blinked. TOMORO-0117 reran the past half second of auditory input. Renais –

Renais cackled.

...oh dear, TOMORO-0117 thought, bemused.

---

Ah. What a splendid morning. The coffee was hot. The room was cool. All systems were humming along and shift change was five minutes away. Humming to himself, Taiga Koutaro seated himself in his command chair. Not even the impending deluge of pending reports could fracture his composure.

"Yo!" Hyuuma informally saluted. "Fun night at the opera, chief?"

Swan quipped, "Love at the Ninth Hole is running in third place this week for top comedy on Broadway." Covering her giggle with her hand, she looked over at Mikoto. "Ne, Mikoto. You and Guy got free tickets, didn't you? From Jamie?"

"So did Renais and J," Mikoto giggled.

"Ooh! Couples night out!" Swan giggled.

"Mmm – sort of. I think Renais and J just went for the ice cream social afterwards," Mikoto confided.

"It was also for research," Kaidou noted.

"Oh?" Taiga inquired. TOMORO-0117 had expressed a keen desire in learning more about music in general. Over the month and a half since J had returned, Dr. Liger had complained a total of twelve times about TOMORO-0117 pestering him for access to the Mic Sounders software. Sooner or later one of them would budge.

Well, at least they were getting somewhere with the JJ-Ride systems.

"Ikumi and Amami-kun had to write an essay on musical theory for their electives class at school. Naturally, they took full advantage of Jamie-chan's grandfather's generous offer to tutor them."

"Naturally," Taiga smiled around his coffee cup. After all, what was the benefit of having a big brother who owned a spaceship if it wasn't shown off once and a while?

"Was Jamie there?" Ushiyama inquired. "KouRyu and AnRyu were asking after her during their maintenance checkup."

Mikoto's smile was biter. "She was there for the ice cream social. She's..." Mikoto paused, gripping the seam of her pants so as to not send a flair of energy into the control systems by accident. "She's alright. Considering."

Hum. Yes. Considering.

Jessica Jamie Jenkins... The unknowing instigator of a third of Taiga's paperwork. Deep background checks, an equally deep genetic profile, and a budgetary line item with her name on it. Her gift to be able to resonate with G-Stones and J-Jewels had been instrumental in creating an Earth-made J-Jewel. Or more accurately, her abilities had inspired Dr. Liger to look at the task of creating Earth-made J-Jewels in a different light. The muse of scientific inspiration could come in a variety of forms...

Somewhere in all that paperwork was a breakdown in layman's terms of how the 'Frequency Issue' preventing J-Jewel generation had been resolved. Dr. Liger, being the immature – the highly intelligent and witty mad scientific genius that he was, had decided to code name the first two Gun Machines built using JJ-Rides after Ms. Jenkins' detective agency. The Triple J Ninja Squad was on track to complete initial testing and move to AI initialization within the week.

And burred even further in the data was how Ms. Jenkins' was not in and of herself unique. Her ability to harmonize with her surroundings – yes, that was a gift. But it was a gift born of talent. Any musician if properly trained could likewise do the same. Just ask Dr. Liger in reference to Disk P. Still, Ms. Jenkins already had the required training – instinctive and unintentional though it had been – and was a ready resource willing to lend Three G a hand at a minimal cost.

Privately, Taiga believed it was the minimal cost of twelve cents an hour which had been the final argument convincing the UN Defense Council Ms. Jenkins's involvement in Three G affairs could continue. If any of the UN Council members outside of Chairman Rose Approval were to have more than a suspicion that Ms. Jenkins's involvement was because of her friendship with Soldato-J 002...

Taiga could hear the council members now: Improper fraternization. Improper conduct with an alien. Improper. Improper. Im-prop-er!

Truly, the UN Council members could be idiots at times. If they were worried about J as a person –

Ah, but then, to the UN Council Members, Soldato-J 002 was an alien (at best); a robotic machine of war (at worst) which had no true master. Allowing it to fraternize with Three G made logistical sense. Allowing it to have unsupervised unlimited contact with civilians? Absurd!

"Hum?"

Pulled from his musings, Taiga turned his attention to Kaidou. Soldato-J 002's foster mother and Operator had her shoulders hunched slightly as she leaned closer to her screen. That did not –

"Chief Taiga!" Kaidou turned around in her chair fast enough Taiga could hear the pop in her neck. "There's a second J-Ark signal!"

"What?!" came the immediate demand from the command staff at large.

"Confirming." Entouji had one hand on the keyboard, the other causing a small flurry of dandruff to sail free of his head. "J-Ark J-Jewel signal over South Africa confirmed as TOMORO-0117 and Soldato-J. Second J-Ark J-Jewel signal detected on the North American continent. Attempting to narrow down exact location now."

"A second J-Ark?" Taiga echoed.

"But that's not possible!" Swan pointed out.

"Could be a BioNet trick?" Ushiyama offered.

"No." Professor Takanohashi was grim, fingers flying over his keyboard as fast as Entouji's. "BioNet did not have access to a J-Jewel of the J-Ark's caliber. It would be forty – no, a twenty percent chance BioNet would be able to mimic the J-Ark's J-Jewel signal so exactly."

"Then what the hell?" Hyuuma demanded, slamming his fist into the desk so hard a wire sparked. "Our J's the only J!"

"Incoming transmission from unknown J-Ark J-Jewel signal!" Kaidou reported.

"To us?" Taiga demanded.

"No!" Swan swallowed hard. "The signal is being sent to the J-Ark directly! We're only receiving since TOMORO-0117 has communication in stand-by mode!"

"Record that message!" Swan acknowledged Taiga's order with a swift nod. "Entouji!"

"Unable to narrow down the location of the unknown J-Ark beyond a thirty thousand kilometer estimate," Entouji reported. A click of his key brought the map online –

"Isn't that...!" Ushiyama gasped.

Right above Laboratory # 5.

"Scramble the Mobile Unit!" Taiga barked.

"J-Ark is accelerating!" Kaidou reported. Hyuuma's disbelieving shout threatened to drown out Kaidou's quieter, "TOM-kun is cutting transmission."

"Playback that message!"

Swan cued up the message. "Displaying on main screen."

The screen activated to show... the J-Ark's command deck? No... The command deck sparkled, kept pristine by TOMORO-0117 and the miracle of science called Regenerating Armor. This deck was dark; dingy. The golden trim was dulled to a brass sheen. The green was muted to a near black. The glitter of red was absent altogether. The whites of the walls and floors were opaque. Taken as a whole it was as though they were looking at a dark reflection. At the center of that reflection –

Stood a distorted vision of Soldato-J.

Armor in hues of red instead of green. Plume of hair its full bushy length, having never been touched by insane scientists' butcher shears, but in a sickening shade of green that brought to mind artists' renderings of Machine King Pizza.

"Who are you?" Soldato-J 002 demanded, voice coming from off screen.

"This was recorded directly as TOMORO-0117 received it," Swan confirmed.

"So, no visuals on our J," Hyuuma hummed.

A smirk. The speaker opened his mouth, and a twisted melody sounded.

"Red Planet Standard."

Taiga turned towards the main entrance. "Dr. Liger? What are you...?"

Dr. Liger walked over to Professor Takanohashi's station as his was closest. His expression was grim; worse, he did not have his rocket skateboard. Typing in a set of commands, Dr. Liger caused the main screen to wink. It rewound.

"Renais contacted me via the pager system," Dr. Liger explained, grim smile gaining an extra edge of malice as he grinned. "I believe you agree such summons is unusual, no?"

Yes, well, the two never had managed to patch their relationship beyond lukewarm. There was too much distance and anger between them.

The professor's terminal bleeped. "There," Dr. Liger announced. "That should install the translation patch TOMORO snuck in."

"Who are you?" J's voice demanded.

This time when the twisted Soldato spoke, it was in Japanese: "Well well, brother. I had thought it impossible that the so-called greatest warrior of the Trinary Star System had indeed allowed himself to go native. Barely has it past a time allotted and you answer not in proper form but in one of this mud ball's sludge tongues."

"A time allotted?" Mikoto echoed.

"The real time audio translation program is buggy," Dr. Liger shrugged. "What can you expect when TOM-kun had to throw it together on such short notice."

"He sounds young..." Kaidou noted.

"He sounds crazy," Hyuuma countered.

J's voice gained an almost melodic quality; switching languages to match, no doubt. "The Soldato Division was annihilated in the defense of the Red Planet. I am the last. Name yourself!"

The twisted Soldato raised his right hand, showing off a dim J-Jewel set in a silver bracer.

"That is not one of our J-Jewels!" Dr. Liger confirmed.

No, it was not. Taiga had seen photos of the J-Jewels installed into the JJ-Drives. Like their green cousins even in a photograph the Infinite Information Circuits were radiant with life. This J-Jewel was as twisted as the Soldato carrying it.

"I am Soldato-J Version Two, you might say. I am the inheritor of true power. I am the true Soldato!"

"The hell you are!" Renais cursed – in Red Planet Standard, if the musical hum was any indication.

"Oh? So the pet cyborg can speak a civilized tongue." The grin of amusement on the twisted Soldato called to mind the grin of Pei la Cain during his leisure advance. "You did well to teach such a neat trick. Then again, you have possessed her for far longer than -"

The screen blinked as the visual source changed.

"This little pet."

Taiga shot to his feet. Nor was he the only member of the command staff to react. On screen was... was...!

Chains anchored to the left, right, floor direct below, and ceiling above. Chains holding tight around thin arms, thin legs, thin neck. Head slumped forward so that hair matted with blood shaded closed eyes. If not for the chains the body would be limp.

"Jamie!" Swan whimpered, hand pressed to her lips.

She looks dead.

Taiga ruthlessly smothered the thought; strangled its echo. He had seen her just last night. Huntington's had progressed to the point she could not sit still no matter how she willed; to the point she could not remember what she had done the day before. She had enough of her faculties left to be sociable so long as the topic was immediate, and enough courage left to smile through the fear doubtless strangling her heart as Death marched ever closer. It would take more than being crucified in chains to break the civilian who counted the last Soldato as her friend!

(Or so Taiga hoped. Civilians were so fragile... Then he ruthlessly crushed the doubt before it could progress further.)

"You bastard!" sounded all the more vicious in Red Planet Standard. Perhaps the language was easier to pick up then English.

"Release the civilian!" J demanded.

"J..." Kaidou murmured, clutching tight to the J-Jewel pendent Ikumi-kun had given her a bare year ago. It had been as much a show of support as it had been a symbol: Kaidou Sakura was acknowledged as J's mother. How her heart must ache for the pain her elder foster son was feeling!

"Civilian...?" The twisted Soldato repeated the world slowly, tasting it. "One not of sky who yet serves... An interesting term."

Taiga made a mental note to get a Red Planet dictionary once this was over. It could be a byproduct of dealing with an entity that was mad – but did Red Planet Standard not have the word civilian? If it did not... The key to understanding the Red Planet's absolute failure might just have been given to them by a madman.

"I propose a trade," the twisted Soldato continued. "One pet for another. You choose which is more precious. I keep the refuse to do with as I will. It is an equitable arrangement, no?" Before J could provide an eloquent variant on hell no the twisted Soldato's console beeped. "You are transmitting to a third party. Desist or this pet dies at present."

"Che," was the last sound recorded before the screen went black.

"Did you get all that, Guy?" Mikoto demanded.

"The whole Mobile Unit heard it! Every word!" Evolunder Guy confirmed. "AnRyu and KouRyu aren't the only ones who want this guy nailed!"

Which was when Taiga realized Mikoto had been transmitting the recorded message to the Ameterasu II while the command staff had been watching it. Which – well. It wasn't a bad thing whatsoever to ensure all parties knew the stakes.

"ES Window detected. Unknown J-Ark signal has vanished," Entouji reported.

"Damn!" Hyuuma voiced the majority opinion.

"Any luck tracing the trajectory?" Taiga asked, knowing it was a lost cause. Their detection capabilities had come a long way since the Zondarian invasion... but the only ones who had the technological capabilities and know-how to trace an ES Window –

"J-Ark has launched ES Missiles," Kaidou reported.

– was the J-Ark.

"Oh!" Swan turned from her station, reporting, "Laboratory # 5 is reporting heavy damage! Possible BioNet assault! They're requesting immediate assistance!"

"Guy! Get the Mobile Unit down to Laboratory # 5! We cannot allow BioNet to corrupt the J-Jewels the same way they corrupted the G-Stones!" Taiga commanded.

"Roger!"

"Ameterasu II accelerating! Estimated time to Laboratory # 5, five minutes!" Ushiyama reported. Turning to face Taiga more directly, he confirmed, "Laboratory # 5's automated defenses should hold out for another six minutes."

"As soon as Ameterasu II clears atmosphere, Genoestic GaiGar is clear to launch!" Taiga ordered. He did not wait to hear Guy's affirmative before turning to Kaidou. "Kaidou-san. Contact Ikumi-kun. He may be the only one who can trace the J-Ark."

Kaidou nodded firmly, pulling out her personal cellphone.

"As of this moment! The unknown J-Ark will be designated the False J-Ark! Likewise, the unknown captain of the False J-Ark is designated the False Soldato!" Taiga slammed his fist down on the base wide communication system's activation button. "All Three G members! Combat stations!"

---

He means to take my J-Ark.

How amusing! How... predictable. This J-Ark Beta had been designed using all of the knowledge Abel had won through the deaths of his Soldato. It would not be as easy to infiltrate as Soldato-J 002 anticipated.

Ah. An ES reaction in the hold. How – unique. Dancing through the asteroid field with ease, returning Soldato-J 002's barrage of missiles with one of his own, acting as though he were unaware of what was occurring within the hold, he switched on the camera view. Surely his pet would be playing –

That... That was not his pet.

Soldato-J 002 is on board my J-Ark! But then... He shifted his attention to the antiquated first generation J-Ark. It danced as easily as his own through the field. Who is piloting his J-Ark?

Surely not the AI system. It had been corrupted by Zonder influence. It lacked the capabilities to handle missile trajectories and flight simultaneously. But then that only left his... pet...

The G-Stone cyborg. Piloting a J-Ark. Inconceivable!

Abel. Somehow. Some way. Abel was responsible for this travesty. It was the only explanation! Trapped though Abel was within the security block of the J-Ark Beta, somehow... Somehow...!

"No!" He slammed his fist into the control counsel. "I am the next generation Soldato! I... cannot loose! I will not loose!"

---

Anger.

Hot. Heavy. Drowning out all other sounds. Not the refreshing snap of the anger lighting a match to poisoned miasma. This was miasma. It sunk into her soul in a way only music could. It raked talons of pain across her ears. It breathed in living air and returned it as gasping death.

So far as alarm clocks went, it sucked.

Not a bed, was Jamie's first thought. Huntington's had been robbing more and more of her time from her, but she could still remember some of the time before the blankness of sleep.

Ice cream social. Deus and his lady. Walked me home.

The sound of creaking wood snagged on a fragmented memory. Bright and green like a peacock running on triple-A batteries leaping through her window to take her across the stars in a singing ship. The clamp of coldness along her extremities –

No. It wasn't green.

Red armor. Like dried blood given a familiar shape so as to become a nightmare.

I've been kidnapped. By a fake. A fake... Deus. Damn BioNet.

Melody. Counterpoint to the red haze of anger and hatred pouring around her. Asking in words that weren't familiar if she were awake. Yet they were in a way familiar. Like... humming... Grandfather would get so mad, her doing this. But the world was awash in pain save for the melody 'speaking'.

Lifting her head hurt. Her throat ached. Then again, was it any worse than she always felt? Gathering her feelings close, Jamie opened her mouth – and let her music do the talking for her.

Interest. Curiosity. Picking up tempo to match her own burst of aggravation.

It took... five minutes? Time was difficult to tell on the best of days. But after some time the not-her melody and she found a nice harmonization. Music rippled with emotions of, This is bad. This hurts. This needs to be fixed. How can I help? Getting me down would be a start.

The ground was hard.

Apologetic. Wonder. Curiosity flickering close. A brush against her hand. A startled half terrified yelp. Determination. Courage! Drifting away. Coming close then drifting away.

Yanking on the dangling chain to use it as an anchor, Jamie got to her feet. Hide and go seek, huh? Hadn't played this game in a long while...

I wonder if this is the fake...

Dismissal with a side order of shock echoed in answer to her barely managed question. Walking and singing weren't easy even when she hadn't needed a wheelchair just to move a foot.

So... not the fake. Good. Jamie didn't have the strength to deal with the fake right now. Wasn't even sure what she would do if she ran across him. Deus would stab him full of holes after his lady got her fill of shooting the idiot into the consistency of Swiss cheese. Sit on him, Jamie decided. As she was a dead girl walking there wasn't much else she could do if she ran across the fake.

Here. Through here, the sound was loudest. Just had to find – where was the –

"Manuel overrides on the J-Ark's interior doors were added later at the request of Three G personnel. Suffice to say it was a very long trip."

Tripping over the point of a triangle, Jamie had to agree. It was a very long trip indeed...

Red hair like a fireball burning like the sun caught her at the fall's end.

---

Twisting hair around and around waiting in the depths of a pocket dimension. Listening. Listening for the signal which meant –

Light filled the deck as systems roused to full battle preparedness.

"Lord Abel has broken free."

"Arma. What do you sense of the Kinslayer? Is his J-Jewel active?"

Twisting, twisting, around and around. "No. Still offline. Like TOMORO-2198."

"Hum." The ES Space sky was as ugly as ever. It would be good to see something else for a while. Even if that something else was another battleground. The Zonders had made enough battlegrounds. No need to see any more. "That will make our mission easier, in a sense."

"Sadness."

"Hum?"

Around and around. Twisting and twisting.

"Lord Abel is sad," Arma reported, her own voice sad. "We should hurry."

"Hum." J-Jewel glinting with life the Kinslayer would never know, the order was given: "J-Ark! Launch!"

---

"Renais!"

Bracing herself inside the J-Ark's Fusion chamber, Renais snapped, "I'm alright!" Even though she was about as far from alright as she could get. When she and J had entered Fusion to fight the Eleven Planetary Masters, Renais had felt the impacts, yes, but they had been distant. Separate. Punches felt through full body armor.

A blast to the J-Ark's port side had her clutching her left side, halfway expecting to find a hole ripped right through her.

"Regenerating Armor holding!" Renais shouted in time with TOMORO-0117. She could feel it stitching her flesh back together as it stitched the J-Ark whole. Another barrage –

Let TOMORO-0117 handle flying. Renais focused on her foremost talent: Trajectory calculation. So many trajectories to plot out, so much ammunition to burn, so little time.

"J has not found the hostage yet," TOM-kun reported. Right. Keep thinking of this as just another mission. Just another crazy plan to deal with an even crazier BioNet threat. If J ever pulled another ES Missile surfing stunt again Renais would shoot him. "This J-Ark appears to be modeled on the original fleet design; however, there have been modifications."

"Like keeping their Regenerating Armor off?" Renais quipped.

"Not a modification. A side effect," TOMORO clarified.

Renais felt the J-Ark accelerating; saw the data necessary for accurate targeting crash through her HUD. The adjustments she fed into the firing systems gave her a wicked headachy thrill. Left her dizzy with the illusion she was the J-Ark. That TOMORO-0117 was as deeply tangled in her life force as the G-Stone keeping her alive.

"The ship's AI is offline," Renais knew. Feeling every calculation TOM-kun was running – gods, so many! How could she have ever thought for a moment she could withstand this? How could J have this much faith in her? – Renais knew it was the only answer.

"I have another ES Missile prepped," TOMORO-0117 stated.

Reinas knew the plan as soon as TOMORO-0117 did. A way to get her on board that mockery of a J-Ark; to get her into the field with J.

"We stick to the plan."

Such as it was: Stay out here and distract him while J went in for extraction. Once J and Jamie were clear Renais would not hold the J-Ark back any further.

Somebody had called the J-Ark a lounging tiger once. The truth of the matter was, the J-Ark was more like a dozing dragon, amused by the prospect of a pilot and computer AI holding its leashes. But somebody had just tried to knock off one of this dragon's treasures. Roused from its doze the dragon was angry in a way as familiar to Renais as breathing.

Wait for it. Just a little more. Then you can eat him... King J-Der.

Another direct hit, starboard side this time. Renais twisted out of the force of the blast to let the worst of it roll off and away. And the J-Ark... turned, echoing her roll.

"Your father may have words if we allow him to access this data," TOMORO-0117 noted, amusement fang sharp.

"Maybe you can loan him the data to use in that Fusion mech he doesn't think we know about, in exchange for the Mic Sounders program?" Renais joked.

Joke or not Renais could feel TOMORO give the suggestion serious weight - in between adjusting the artificial gravity to insure the g-forces didn't remodel Renais into a pancake.

Renais felt more than saw J's J-Jewel shift directions away from J's best guess where the prisoner hold was. He was flying at his top speed and heading up. Up to the command deck. Breathing heavily, Renais hoped he'd hurry a little bit faster...

Throwing all her courage and anger into her G-Stone, Renais focused her will to match – to fuse – with TOMORO-0117's. Yelling at the top of her lungs she reached through the J-Ark, turning its power into her own, and struck.

---

The decision to bank left was more instinctual than thought. A hole cut through the armor plating ahead of him; atmosphere was sucked out with torrential force. Using it to his advantage J pushed himself further, faster. By time he reached the hole the emergency seals were active and there was no risk of being sucked into space.

Emergency systems still ran independent of the main computer. That much at least had not been modified. The same could not be said for the remainder of this vessel.

I should have insisted Jamie be allowed to hold a J-Jewel. One of the rejects. Something with a tracker, J cursed. The threat assessment at the time stated the risk was low. BioNet would not bother with so low ranked a target, even one connected to Renais.

The threat assessment stood null and void.

Renais is running out of time.

The phoenix of his heart was a strong willed warrior. The J-Ark seemed to... enjoy her company, near as much as J did. During his absence the ship had not balked at Renais taking command. In theory it should have been enough to allow Renais prolonged control. And in truth, ten minutes was an eternity on the battlefield.

However, J knew Renais as he knew his J-Jewel. If Renais were allowing strikes so close to his position then she was loosing control... or running out of power. G-Stone – her Earth tech body – Ashes only knew what the root cause was. The result was still the same.

Five minutes, J judged. If the battle was not won one way or the other in five minutes, he would withdraw. The thought of another failure ached at him. However... However...!

"Don't risk your life for a corpse," Jamie would say in a situation such as this.

I wish to hear her say it herself! Renais would have demanded.

The phoenix of his heart and he... They had seen enough death to last a thousand lifetimes. One more would not be placed upon them. Not one more!

The command deck!

Taking a page from the cyborg's book (to borrow an Earth phrase), J blasted into the command deck shouting, "Boy-yo!" It was a derogatory variant of child, insinuating a birth of lowest station. It should be enough to distract him.

Gas blasted under his feet. Right arm shifting to cover his nose and mouth on instinct J tried to step back. Too late: The world gained a fuzzy frizz at its edges. The command deck swam in front of his eyes. The twisted mimic laughed, low and dark and haunting.

J slammed his foot down at a deliberately off angle. Pain jerked along his nerves but not enough to keep him focused. Whatever this gas was it choked off his throat; darkened his vision. A BioNet concoction of some type. J made a note to look into it further once the Enemy was down.

"Did you think I would not have calculated your assault?" the Enemy huffed, laughter ending for the moment. "The gas was meant for the woman. While it will not eat through a Soldato's cybernetics as it would have the woman's, it is sufficient to halt even you."

"Eat... through...?" J wheezed.

"I do not recall the exact name or chemical composition." A pause of dismissal; the Enemy waived the thought away. "I know it works by dissolving the crystal fibers used in a cyborg's central nervous system. It is more efficient when exposed to G-Stone energy." The ship rocked, struck once more by a missile barrage. "I would give you... hum... Five minutes. Yes, about five minutes before the gas eats through to your synaptic. Once it hits... Well. I am sure you can extrapolate."

"Did he just say he's killing him?"

J winced. Auditory system misfire. Jamie was on this ship, yes, but nowhere near the command deck.

"Yes, he did," a secondary unknown voice stated.

The Enemy twisted where he stood. Got as far as yelling, "Abel!"

Optical system misfires, now. To his knowledge Jessica Jamie Jenkins had never punched someone before. It seemed the illusion of her was as ineffective as her lack of training would have estimated: The Enemy casually threw her over his shoulder. She crumpled to the floor roughly one meter in front of him. The gas had dispersed to one part per trillion at a minimum; the Enemy jumped down after Jamie. Illusion or not J still tried to fight through the gas's effects. The Will Knife Renais had gifted him. It was within reach. Like shifting through tar –

The Enemy bat the Will Knife out of his grip. It clattered unseen to the floor.

"You are no Soldato!" the Enemy hissed. "You are unworthy of my t-"

The Enemy went strangely quiet. He staggered backwards. Unable to remain standing himself, J slumped downward. Optics registered the sight of the Enemy staggering back, then forward, then back again.

The Enemy slumped forward, falling to the ground under an Earthling's dead weight. Renais's Will Knife glinted with a sliver of its blade exposed. The remainder was dug deep into the Enemy's spinal column directly below where the upper torso armor ended. The will of the knife's wielder had been sufficient to pierce the bodysuit that should have otherwise protected the Enemy.

"Deus... 'xplain to me why you came for a corpse...?" J thought he heard Jamie wheeze.

"You are not dead yet, Blue Planet native."

J tried to shift his focus to the speaker –

---

The final enemy missile exited ES Space to impact dead center on the command deck. The last thing Renais heard was TOMORO-0117's scream blending with her own.

---

His J-Jewel went silent. It would only do so if... his J-Ark... his heart... Renais! He could not feel TOMORO-0117. He could not feel Renais. He could not feel...

Darkness swallowed J in a blinding haze of red.

---

There was a blinking red light behind his eyelids.

Critical repair mode, Soldato-J 002's training recognized it. The last time Soldato-J had seen such a light had been after Arma had Purified himself and TOMORO-0117. The injuries he had received as Pizza coupled with the shock of Purification had left J exhausted and wounded to his core.

A tendril of power dimmed the light; brought in its wake a VR image of Earth's sky at twilight. Not a real time image... and not a true image, either. The brightest stars in the sky were the Earth constellation Leo and the Red Planet constellation Glittering-Sword-of-Hope. Much like how 'lion' translated to 'beast-who-proclaims-itself-king' the true name for the Red Planet's constellation sounded far less... hum. Romantic was the term, was it not?

Reaching his will outwards in a mental pattern as ingrained as breathing J felt the pulse of his J-Jewel. And listened, straining his 'ears', for the echoing pulse of his soulheart.

J.

TOMORO-0117's voice was akin to a psychic impression. This was not surprising: J had known from the instant VR mode had triggered he was linked to his ship and to TOMORO-0117. That was protocol for critical repair mode.

I cannot feel Renais, J noted. The last few seconds before critical repair mode had triggered rushed him in a wave of terror. TOMORO. I cannot feel Renais.

Renais is alive. Injured. J. She is alive.

I cannot feel her.

TOMORO-0117 knew what J's next orders would be without J having to voice them. VR mode shut down. The tangle of TOMORO-0117's consciousness with J's own disengaged. Reality was still a haze; still lined with red mist. The automatic maintenance system's lid withdrew and the dais lowered so that J could get out. Getting to his feet was like dragging his body through tar.

A thought, random as a downpour on a cloudless day: Was this what Jamie felt? This weight in body and mind numbing touch and will. The oppressive refusal to move despite his will.

"J!"

A warm blanket was snapped over J's shoulders and a small body braced itself underneath him. The smaller form felt as frail as J's grasp on reality.

"Its alright, J. Shh, shh, its alright. You're safe. Renais is safe."

J forced the name past his lips even though his vocal processor was glitching and his teeth were chattering. "M-m-m-moth-th-ther."

Mother brushed his bangs out of his eyes. His hair was longer than it had been during the rescue mission. How long had J been unconscious?

"Two months, fourteen days, seven hours, thirty six minutes, nineteen seconds on the mark. Mark." TOMORO-0117 helpfully provided over their private line.

"Ikumi said you were starting to regain consciousness." Through the red haze that dogged him, J could see the dark circles under mother's eyes. "He said... He said your entire nervous system had to be rebuilt. That gas..." A shudder felt even through the fog of not-feeling that drowned J. "It may not have been designed for J-Jewel cyborgs. It certainly worked to spec, though. They used the same kind of gas at Laboratory # 5.

"Kidnapping Jamie-chan was just a distraction," mother continued, walking with him as J forced himself forward. "That is the Intelligence Unit's conjecture based on the information Guy, Chasseur, and the Mobile Unit were able to extract from fourteen BioNet labs." Mother chuckled; the sound was wet with unspent tears. "They tied Renais-chan for most number of BioNet labs located and destroyed within two days, you know. Guy and the others. They were all so angry..." She shook her head; her hair tickled the end of J's nose. "Guy being an Evolunder is what saved the day at Laboratory # 5. The gas uses nanomachines. Its how it penetrates target systems so quickly. I'm not sure of the specifics, even when Dr. Liger explained them. In short Guy turned a massive quantity of the gas into an antidote. Its under investigation by the science department now."

"Renais," J managed through chattering teeth.

"Damaged. Badly. It was touch and go for three long, long days." Mother helped J over the corridor's threshold. "I'll help you get to her. But we must go slowly, J, for my sake."

Humph. Yes. Mother was not a young human. Best to go at her pace. Even weakened as he was, J knew he could harm her. While part of him balked at going so slowly, J did force himself to slow down further.

"BioNet made contact with the False Soldato roughly nine months ago. How the False Soldato found out about Earth or your being here is still under investigation. It could be pure," a bitter laugh, "dumb luck. No matter. The False Soldato has an... an obsession is the polite term. He covets everything you and your brothers had, without any true understanding of what a Soldato is. He is still alive, for the moment. The False Soldato."

The False Soldato. As mother helped him stand on the moving sidewalk connecting the J-Ark to Three G Orbit Base, J determined the designation was fitting enough.

"Volfogg is personally handling the False Soldato's security. He almost didn't make it."

"Jam-m-mie," J got out. Three G – more importantly, mother – should stand under no illusions regarding the 'battle', such as it could have been called.

Mother's nod was shaky. "We know. The J-Ark Beta's main computer may have been down, but its internal recording systems were not. I... I saw the video."

They were silent as mother helped J off the moving sidewalk and into Three G Orbit Base proper. At the edges of his vision J could make out members of Three G pausing in their activities.

"Hot damn our Soldato's alive," came a hushed, harsh whisper.

A lion's roar of happiness raced through the crowd. J made out shouts of, "He made it!" and "Yes!" through the general cacophony of exuberant excitement.

"A lot of people were worried about you, J." Mother's voice was almost a whisper lost in the blinding noise.

J swallowed an emotion he could not name.

None of the Three G personnel moved closer to offer assistance. It was as if they already knew any such offer would have to be forced upon J to be accepted. It took the doors of the corridor leading off the main hub to dim the noise.

"The Takehaya II arrived on scene first," mother continued, thankfully not commenting further on the outburst before. "It was... It was bad. Your J-Ark had taken a direct hit to the command deck. If TOMORO-0117 hadn't reacted so swiftly by force ejecting the Fusion cockpit to the secondary command deck, Renais's injuries would have been fatal. As it were... TOMORO-0117 only recently told me the force ejection system was not something built in, but rather a desperate move involving manipulating artificial gravity, and breaking the J-Ark's hull in spots. It did work. It simply had... consequences. Two months later and the J-Ark is still undergoing repairs. Several of the circuits damaged within the Fusion cockpit were delicate. Or so Ikumi and TOMORO-kun tell me."

"I have not withheld further information," TOMORO-0117 confessed to J. "Kaidou Sakura drafted the assistance of all Dragon-class AI robots to... to blackmail me."

J almost missed a step due to shock rather than the omnipresent drag on his limbs.

"B-b-bla-blackm-mail...?"

"KouRyu. AnRyu. Pluto."

...oh Void. Yes, that would be sufficient information to force TOMORO-0117's cooperation.

The cyborg maintenance bay.

The door before J opened without mother having to slow to use her access card. Dr. Liger Shishioh stood on his rocket skateboard. His active rocket skateboard, which was in hover mode. "Ah!" he laughed, lowering his hand and the access card he was holding, "I was just going to go get dinner! Come in, come in!"

"J!" Mikoto rose from a chair next to the active cyborg maintenance berth. "About time you got back on your feet! We've been worried sick about you!"

"Ah." Guy. Stepping away from where he stood as sentry near the berth's head. Moving to stand in front of J. "Welcome home, Soldato-J."

More of the nameless emotion welling in his breast. J barely managed a nod; the action taxed his strength further.

Guy moved without prompt to brace J from his free side. Mother slipped away, no longer bracing J's weight. Mikoto took her place. They helped him walk forward toward –

"Renais."

J's voice wavered; due to his damaged state, not due to the fear and furry beating through him at Renais's condition. Stripped of her cold coat and her by necessity too thin armor, she lay in the active cyborg maintenance chamber. Her eyes were closed and the secondary batteries disguised by her hair were plugged into outlets. Various wires connected to associated ports. Portions of her synthetic flesh were torn away revealing the cybernetics within.

"Uncle Liger is doing a full rebuild," Guy was saying as he helped J ease into the chair next to Renais. "So much of her was..." J felt Guy swallow.

"You could say it was a mixed blessing," Mikoto chimed in. "Eighty percent of the irreparably damaged systems were the ones BioNet put in. This way, Dr. Liger can work on fixing what he couldn't fix before. He couldn't before now because... Well, you know Renais."

Yes. J knew his soulheart. It took all her tremendous courage to endure maintenance alone; not because of harm done to her by her father, but because of the harm BioNet had inflicted on her. Tearing open a scar again and again, she had called it. Of course she would not consent to a full rebuild, even if it would be to her benefit, without extreme extenuating circumstances. Even then, J would not put it past Dr. Liger Shishioh to not ask, but do what was best for his daughter... no matter the consequences.

Dr. Liger Shishioh loved his daughter deeply. Loved her enough he would endure the nova flare of her hatred, if only to see her live.

Reaching out a shaking hand took the last of his power. J's hand cupped Renais's. His J-Jewel linked with her G-Stone. The cooling fans on the table triggered. J registered the chill as a distant breeze.

I am here, he sent as wordless energy.

Soulheart, echoed faintly back. A machine beeped. J did not bother to give it further attention, save to note Dr. Liger was attending it.

Someone brought him a pillow. J rested his head on it. Whomever they were adjusted the blanket so it lay more evenly over his armor.

"I've done the last of what I can do with our current level of technology," Dr. Liger noted. Perhaps he was talking to mother. "Latio likewise has done what he can through her G-Stone. So. Now that you've seen it, the best we can do, I take it you're satisfied?"

Reality faded before J could hear the reply.

A second J-Jewel reaction pulled J from deep maintenance cycle. The dissonance of the J-Jewel's harmonics against his J-Jewel and Renais's G-Stone grated against his nerves. The J-Jewel was not Arma's, nor was it mother's. Not wishing the intruder to know he were awake J reached slowly for his Will Knife.

"It has been a lengthy solar rotation. Kinsman."

Japanese. But with an accent and harmonics which reminded J –

It reminded J of when Renais has first started learning Red Planet Standard.

J sat up slowly. Carefully. Always moving his hand closer to his Will Knife. Renais had been correct: It came in handy for situations where fists were –

J forgot about grabbing for his knife. Forgot for a moment where and when he was. The word, "Impossible," escaped him, a deceleration of what – of who – he was looking at. "The final attempt at evacuation. You were terminated. I saw your J-Ark...!"

A grin an exact replica of his own. For a bitter moment J could sympathize with Renais wanting to punch him whenever he grinned like that. The impossibility stated, "You saw what we needed the Enemy to see. Though I will not stand on formal dictum. My J-Ark near was lost. A fraction of a second delay on deploying countermeasures made the difference."

"Soldato-J... 000."

"Soldato-J 002," the impossibility acknowledged formally. "Your Arma unit still functions."

J nodded even though it had been a statement, not a question. "Yours?" He had to buy time somehow. Void, he could barely process this was real.

"She does well." Soldato-J 000 made no movement, but J could feel his attention shift to Renais. "The Earth G-Stone cyborg piloted your J-Ark." A quirk of his lips. "She flew well." Soldato-J 000 crossed his arms over his chest. "I will accept no less from a woman who would dare to call herself my kinsman's soulheart."

"Renais is as she calls herself," J affirmed without hesitation. Impossibility or not – Renais was the phoenix of his heart. No one would insinuate she should be otherwise.

"Renais," Soldato-J 000 repeated her name, memorizing it; acknowledging Renais as a warrior. "Doubtless you have questions. Of the most immediate: Lord Abel lives."

J felt the words like a physical blow yet forced himself not to react. "Lord Abel's continued existence was the heart of the final evacuation attempt," J noted. His voice did not sound as though it were shaking. Lord Abel. Alive. The heart of the Red Planet; the heart of his old home. Alive.

"Lord Abel is here."

J's jaw dropped. Soldato-J 000 had a wicked grin. A pie to the face grin as Renais would call it.

"Lord Abel is here," Soldato-J 000 repeated. "He is in conference with this UN Defense Council." The grin lowered in intensity to a frown. "My Arma unit believes this Defense Council to be a collection of weak willed fools who have neither the mental capacity nor the courage to be what their lofty title claims."

"Your Arma unit would be correct," J concurred. And mentally punched himself for being so foolish.

Soldato-J 000 smirked again but did not comment on J's blunder. "Were you aware Renais is considered a living corpse by the Blue Planet's laws?"

No, J had not been aware of that. The fact was startling enough J blinked.

"Neither Renais nor this... Evolunder Guy," Soldato-J 000 sounded out the term evolunder, cautious with its pronunciation, "have any legal rights as sapient beings. Per this planet's custom, no cyborg does, save yourself as you were not born of this planet or its science. My Arma has informed me Lord Abel is disturbed by this fact."

Given the last fact which had disturbed Lord Abel had caused him to build the Soldato Division... Cue sinking feeling, as Guy would joke.

"I must warn you. If Lord Abel should attempt to harm the Blue Planet, I will join its guardians in its defense," J stated.

"Given you still function, Lord Abel determined as much." Not a dismissal. A statement of honor and fact. "Lord Abel is under the compulsion of sauver la vie. French held the closest Blue Planet equivalent to the term."

J blinked. Twice. "Lord Abel owes a life debt?" The words came closer to the intent of the Red Planet custom. Soldato-J 000 nodded, grinning. Given a life debt meant Lord Abel could be ordered to die, and have no honorable choice save to do so – "Who holds the debt?"

"Jessica Jamie Jenkins."

Jamie? But – what – "How?" J managed to demand without shouting. ...at least not shouting too loudly. "She is a civilian!"

"She is not a warrior, true. That did not stop her from stopping the kinslayer from taking another life."

Kinslayer. The more appropriate term in any Blue Planet tongue would be continental mass murderer.

"The one Three G has designated the False Soldato. He is a kinslayer?" J demanded. If he was – blast it all to the Void. Three G's oaths kept them from doing the sane thing and tossing him into an ES Space and slamming the the door shut after him.

"He is. He will be transferred to my J-Ark before our departure, whereupon Lord Abel will render his judgment within the scope as ordered by Red Planet law."

J breathed easier by a fraction.

"But first Lord Abel must settle the compulsion of sauver la vie. And he certainly cannot settle it by having the holder of his dept be declared dead by his repayment. That would defeat the purpose of Lord Abel's actions. Further, he cannot allow Jessica Jamie Jenkins to continue as she is." Soldato-J 000 tipped his head fractionally to the left; an expression of curious interest. "Were you briefed on her physical condition before executing your mission?"

"I am aware of the terminal illness afflicting her." Two months, give or take, TOMORO-0117 had told him. By now... "It would be a mercy to kill her now then allow her to live as the tortured shell the illness has hollowed her to be."

"TOMORO-0013 researched the illness thoroughly. I concur."

Yet Lord Abel claimed to be in a life debt. "Why does she still live?"

"She is undergoing cyborg modification aboard the J-Ark Beta. I should say," Soldato-J 000 continued as though unaware of J's once again dropped jaw, "she was undergoing cyborg modification. Once life support was established the modifications were halted as it was only then Lord Abel was made blatantly aware of the Blue Planet law which rends his savior's personhood moot. Blatantly aware at gunpoint."

"UN Security Forces," J guessed.

"Staging a 'rescue' at the behest of the Defense Council," Soldato-J 002 confirmed. "Their orders were to recover a bio weapon. Their authorization to remove Jessica Jamie Jenkins came from Melody Adriana Jenkins who beseeched they recover her daughter's flesh so that a proper mourning ceremony might be held.

"The incident occurred one month ago. Lord Abel has been working tirelessly ever since in an effort to insure his debt be repaid." A momentary pause. "You may be interested to know her life force has synchronized with the J-Ark Beta and its AI."

J felt an un-Soldato like urge to meep. A civilian as captain of a battleship with capabilities close to or matching the J-Ark. Even if that civilian was Jamie, who at the best of times seemed to have a shred of rationality to even her most inane actions... Douse it all in flames – the probability of this scenario having what mother might dub a 'happy ending' was low.

The door to the cyborg maintenance unit opened. Shifting his attention from Soldato-J 000 to the movement of the door, J nearly missed Soldato-J 000 tense. Enemy action?

No. Arma and mother. Arma's expression was a mask of neutrality. Mother's by contrast was bright, hopeful, and full of relief.

"J!" Wrapped within the letter that was his name: You're awake. Thank goodness you're awake. I was worried for you, about you.

"Mother," J greeted her in kind. And did not give a damn what conclusions Soldato-J 000 or Lord Abel would draw from his acknowledgment of Kaidou Sakura.

Mother walked into the chamber – and paused, noticing Soldato-J 000's presence. Her reaction was disconcerting: Mother's expression morphed into a mask near as inscrutable as Arma's, and her posture grew tense as though she wished she had her bow and a full compliment of arrows in hand.

"Soldato-J 000." Mother's voice was as frosty as Renais' cold coat in active mode.

That Soldato-J 000 did not use mother's name, or even her Three G rank and title, caused J's spine to stiffen. His brother Soldato was dismissing his mother as being below him. How could he dare – why would he dare –

"You were leaving," mother stated.

An amused pause from Soldato-J 000 had J reaching for the Will Knife again. It was poor etiquette at best to be so dismissive of another Soldato's support wings even if they showed an attitude above their station. To be so dismissive of his mother...!

"J." TOMORO reaching out to him through his J-Jewel. "Kaidou Sakura punched Lord Abel."

Confusion cast the rising anger aside. Mother punched...?

"She came close to breaking his nose. I have reviewed the security footage. By Blue Planet standards, Lord Abel was – as Renais would say – quote asking for it end quote."

He was, Arma confirmed via telepathy. Save for his words, J would have thought his full attention was on Soldato-J 000. "You were leaving?" Arma stated aloud, shifting the demand into a more amicable question.

"I was." Soldato-J 000 acknowledged Arma while still worse than ignoring mother's presence. "Soldato-J 002."

J nodded as was proper acknowledgment of Soldato-J 000 taking his leave. Soldato-J 000 gave one final dismissive flicker of attention to Kaidou Sakura before uncrossing his arms and walking out the door.

Mother did not relax until the door was closed firmly behind Soldato-J 000, but it was Arma who took the initiative. Arma walked over to J, reached out to –

J breathed in deeply, centering himself. Arma did not often tune his J-Jewel; it was an... experience. J-Jewel energy filled his systems searching for errors in need of correction. Damages were still present within his nervous system. The healing J-Jewel energy tingled as it corrected the errors. If one were feeling imaginative, J supposed they could describe the feeling as being hugged.

"You are to remain off duty for another seven days," Arma ordered.

J caught sight of mother's worried frown in time to keep himself from saying such an order was unnecessary. His systems were now at peak performance. However... J doubted mother would take such an answer as well-meaning. As he recalled, neither J nor Arma had accepted mother's assurances she was fully recovered from cancer surgery until after prolonged observation.

So instead J stated, "Understood, Arma," and did not press the matter.

Turning, he looked at Renais. He had not noticed before, but he was still holding her hand. She did look physically well even though she was still fast asleep. All of her artificial skin was in place; no cybernetics were visible. The machines she was plugged into hummed in a sedate steady readout marking nothing out of the ordinary.

TOMORO-0117's voice came out of the maintenance chamber's speakers: "Renais's condition is stable, J. Latio performed an additional tune-up of her G-Stone while you were in deep maintenance cycle. Further, Dr. Liger has provided her updated blueprints. The J-Ark's automated maintenance system remains available to Renais at her request."

"Physically she's fine, yes, but she hasn't woken up since..." Mother's voice trailed off.

"She will wake when she wishes to," J stated, sure of the fact. He squeezed her hand lightly.

"Yes, I'm sure she will," mother concurred, managing a smile. "I have a briefing for you. And lunch, if you're hungry."

As deep maintenance used his body's reserve of resources, yes. J was starved.

At J's nod affirmative, mother stepped back out into the hall – to haul in one of those cafeteria dollies usually pressed into service for events with fifty plus attendees. It was loaded with sufficient foodstuff to feed ten people. Or one recovering Soldato.

Eating meant he had to let go of Renais's hand. J hesitated for a moment. Then, he yielded to the logic that Renais would not want spaghetti sauce inadvertently splashed over her. There was a trick to insuring the noodles did not splash as they were slurped; J had seen it done. He simply had not mastered it.

"'s that pizza...?"

"Renais!" mother laughed brightly. She did not comment on Renais having worried her; the tears threatening to fall spoke louder than words. Mother was saying, "Yes, dear, that is. Anchovies and spinach," as she moved with Arma to adjust the maintenance berth so that Renais was sitting up.

"'course it would be," Renais sleepily sighed. Her fingers laced with J's. "Bonjour, J..."

"Good morning," J reached forward to brush a faint imperfection from Renais's cheek, "my soulheart."

Color blossomed on her cheeks. "Guess we kicked that fake's ass?" Renais asked, looking away from him. Embarrassed that he would be so openly affectionate, perhaps.

"To a degree." J assisted mother and Arma in snapping a removable table into place in front of Renais. Once it was secure, mother put the pizza on it. "It is my understanding Jamie landed a near fatal blow with your Will Knife."

Renais's hand shook as she paused in picking up a pizza slice. "The Will Knife I gave you?" At J's affirmative, Renais demanded, "How did Jamie get free and get a hold of it?"

"The brief version is that a refugee ship was able to make it off the Red Planet before the Zonders completed mechanizing it. That's where the second J-Ark originated from. From the refugees," mother clarified.

"Its complicated," Arama stated, blunt.

"Joy." Picking off a sardine from her selected slice and moving it to the one J had claimed, Renais stated, "Last thing I remember is taking a direct hit."

"Its as good a place to start as any," mother noted. "TOMORO, if you could display the briefing presentation? I saved it on the main server in my personnel folder."

"Of course."

A screen hooked to the ceiling set at an angle so as to be easily observable to any cyborg within the maintenance berth illuminated. It displayed three J-Arks in total. One was the unknown J-Ark piloted by the False Soldato, the second showing no battle damage was Soldato-J 000's J-Ark, and the third had critical portions of the command deck broken off its hull.

J squeezed Renais's hand. She was alive. That was what mattered. Not how close to death she had come once again. What mattered was Renais was alive.

"This image was captured by the Hubble deep space telescope. We were fortunate it was in a position to get an image at all."

"A third J-Ark?" Renais demanded after swallowing a bite of pizza.

"Next slide, TOM-kun, if you please?" The image on screen switched to one of –

Renais almost dropped the pizza slice in her lap. "That's..."

"Abel, of the Red Planet. Yes, dear, it is." Mother waited for Renais to regain her composure. "Abel was able to escape the Red Planet with a group of refugees from the Trinary Star System. One member of the Soldato Division and their Arma was able to protect the refugees and serve as bodyguards while they established a new home world. That Soldato is Soldato-J 000." The image switched again, now to show Soldato-J 000 and his Arma observing from rearguard posts. The expanded image also showed a clearer shot of Taiga accepting Lord Abel's formal introduction.

"...that Arma 's a girl," Renais noted, focusing on a small detail so that she was not overwhelmed by the larger picture.

"The genetic sequence that triggers Purification Mode is on the Red Planet equivalent of the x chromosome. Abel wasn't sure if doubling the x chromosome would increase Purification's power or not," Arma explained.

"Soldato, Arma, the J-Arks. They were all expendable experiments to Lord Abel."

If it were possible for words to take physical form, mother's statement would have been transformed into an anti-meson cannon primed to fire. But why was she so angry?

The answer came as Renais squeezed his hand. Arma and he... They were mother's children. A mother's duty was to aid her children in their mission. For mother to discover her children had been born for the sole purpose of dying –

But they had not been born just to die. They were warriors. Death on the battlefield may occur, yes, but to die was not their mission. To be 'used up' as BioNet had intended to 'use up' Renais was not why the Soldato Division had been created.

She won't listen to that rational, J, Arma telepathically noted.

No, she would not, would she?

J set aside the problem for further consideration at a later date. Aloud he inquired, "Was it Soldato-J 000 who located Jamie?"

Mother took a deep breath to center herself while TOMORO brought up the next image. This was a single page document in Red Planet Standard. "No, Soldato-J 000 arrived after the J-Ark Beta had fallen silent. The J-Ark Beta – that would be the J-Ark the False Soldato was piloting – is a next generation prototype developed by Abel for the purpose of defending their home world. According to Abel's deposition the False Soldato was able to capture the J-Ark Beta during a test flight."

Someone had gotten Lord Abel to write out a deposition? It did explain some of the vocabulary on the document. It was quite... colorful.

"According to Lord Abel's deposition, the J-Ark Beta's main computer AI, TOMORO-2198, has been initialized for two weeks relative Earth time. It shut down in self defense upon the False Soldato taking forced command of the J-Ark Beta," TOMORO-0117 reported. "The AI has since rebooted of its own accord." There was a pause. "AnRyu and KouRyu believe TOMORO-2198 to be," a longer pause, "adorable."

Renais exchanged a look with mother before shaking her head and sighing. "Don't worry, TOM-kun. I'm sure they think you're still the cutest J-Ark AI in the galaxy."

There was a lengthy pause. "I am unsure if I should be comforted or disturbed," TOMORO-0117 admitted.

"Such a mixed opinion is standard when dealing with siblings," mother nodded sagely with barely a hint of a smile.

"So," Renais selected another slice of pizza. J was on his third slice. "The main computer was down because its AI was off. That explains the lack of Regenerating Armor. What about how Jamie got loose?"

"The False Soldato had taken Lord Abel as a hostage," Arma stated.

"Huh." Renais swallowed. "Abel got Jamie down, somehow. The False Soldato probably kept them in the same cell. Jamie helped Abel, or vice versa, to the command deck. Where you," Renais gestured to J with her pizza slice, "were engaged in combat with the target?"

"The False Soldato used a chemical weapon. It... debilitated me," J admitted.

"It ate away your nervous system." Arma's voice allowed no quarter.

Renais squeezed his hand. J returned the gesture, promising, "I am fully repaired."

Renais attempted to continue as though unphased. "So, you dropped the Will Knife. Jamie picked it up. You kept him distracted, and she..."

"Jamie stabbed the False Soldato. She didn't have much strength to make it stick. Dead weight was... sufficient," mother reported.

"Bastard still alive?" Renais demanded.

"For the moment," mother confirmed.

There was silence unbroken save by the chewing of lunch and another pizza being swapped for the one J and Renais were working through.

"Jamie?" Renais asked.

Mother sighed. "Jamie-chan's fate is where things get... complicated."

---

The UN Defense Council was in emergency session. It had been in session for going on five of this planet's hours, now. Tapping his left hand's fingers against his right elbow, Abel of the Red Planet did his best not to pace outside the council's doors. To do so would show weakness. These fools already believed they had him on the defensive given he was the outsider and that he was alone.

They obviously had little knowledge regarding a J-Ark's true power.

Good, Abel thought. If they knew what a J-Ark could truly do, this conversation would be less about an inconvenience and more about how to properly convert the Blue Planet child into an emotionless weapon at their command.

Blast politics to the endless flames. That he had to deal with these immature, incompetent, imbeciles – how by all the stars had Soldato-J 002 and his Arma managed to put up with these... these... Gah! That so-called Galaxy Guard commander insulated them. It was the only logical answer.

Soldato-J 000's Arma's mental touch flickered against the flames of his mind.

Abel looked down at his bracer. Ah, so his Soldato had been trying to reach him. Reading through the report –

Well. This would be useful.

Typing back a reply, Abel stood ready, waiting for the incendiaries he had just ordered alight to reach their ignition temperatures.

---

The alarm sounded as J was starting on his two pound serving of spaghetti.

Mother and Arma had left them some time ago. Further, the cyborg maintenance bay was shielded from transmissions and soundproofed. There was no immediate way to know what was occurring.

"J!" TOMORO-0117's voice proceeded the main screen turning on. "Renais and yourself need to see this!"

The visual was of the UN Defense Council chamber. The various member states' representatives and their aids were seated at desks sent in a rig around the conference room. The different desks all looked identical – a way to show no one state was greater than the other? – save for the Council chairman's desk. There, the Council chairwoman stood with both hands atop her cane and expression fixed in a concentrating frown.

"A recording of a Council meeting isn't news, TOM-kun," Renais pointed out.

"This is a live broadcast."

Renais came dangerously close to knocking the plate out of J's hands.

"That is not possible," J stated. "The security protocols -"

"Were breached. Kousuke Entouji believes the breach was performed by TOMORO-0013."

"Soldato-J 000's J-Ark's AI?" Renais confirmed. At J's nod affirmative she demanded, "Why?"

"To make a point."

J had the spaghetti plate down and Will Knife drawn and was on his feet in a single smooth motion, rising to guard his partner from the unknown threat. If Renais had been allowed to have her shotgun it, too, would have been aimed.

Soldato-J 000 held up both hands in a display to show he was unarmed.

"What point?" Renais inquired, voice level as a drawn blade.

"That will be self-evident momentarily." Soldato-J 000 lowered his hands.

One of the Council members was speaking. "Gentlemen. I don't believe we've faced a decision this debilitating since those Three G hooligans came back alive."

"At least then we could brush the incident under the rug!" a second Council member shouted. "Can you imagine what would happen if word got out we exiled them on trumped up charges?"

"Bad enough the public thinks we misunderstood Three G's haste to respond to a credible threat," a third council member humphed. "If they found out we were refusing to take action on verifiable intelligence... Oh, yes. The political fallout... No. Its not worth thinking on."

"This will be just as bad!" the second Council member proclaimed.

"How so?" a fourth Council member inquired. He waited for his fellow Council members to get their sputtering out of the way. "No, truly, how so? All we need do is spin it. Oh, we are sorry. We didn't have the scientific knowledge at the time that people who had undergone the cyborg modification process were still people afterwards. Yes, yes, the Three G scientists just now released their findings. We're so sorry, Evolunder Guy, Cyborg Renais. We'll make sure all the paperwork is sorted out so you're no longer declared legally dead. See? Simple!"

"We should have Three G release those findings first!" the second Council member decided.

"After our people alter the dates," the fourth Council member stated. "It would backfire something fierce if the public were made aware that those studies reached their definitive conclusions half a decade ago. They'd try to say we should have acted on it immediately instead of classifying them."

The first Council member made a rude, dismissive sound. "Just because they're heroes, the public thinks we need to kowtow to their every whim when its Three G who should continue to kowtow to us. We have the power. Not Three G."

"Gentlemen. Three G is not at issue. This girl is," a fifth Council member pointed out.

"What does it matter what happens to this kid?" the forth Council member asked. "My understanding was we were going to kidnap and dissect her anyway once the alien was gone."

"And how would we have pulled that off?" the second Council member demanded. "Three G has her under their protection, now, at the behest of the alien."

"Blame BioNet, of course. Really, all we'd need to do is insure some false data got into Three G Intelligence's hands. By time they realized it was false, we'd be rid of BioNet and have the secrets of advanced cybernetic technologies. Win-win I'd say."

The second Council member appeared to be about to call a point of order –

When the Council Chairman's table beeped.

The Council's chairwoman snapped the tip of her cane into the offending beeping technology. "I stated we are not to be -"

"Chairwoman Approval! T-The meeting's being broadcast!"

"Hum?" One eyebrow reached up towards the chairwoman's hairline as the various Council members began to squawk. "Broadcast to whom?"

"Everyone! Its – Its global! Every television station on the planet is broadcasting -"

The signal went dead.

"As I said," Soldato-J 000 stated smugly into the echoing silence, "the reason is self-evident."

---

The hospital room was familiar in the same way stubbing her toe was familiar. It hurt to be here, to know... To know it didn't matter that Deus and his lady and their singing ship had rescued her. Another few weeks, maybe another few days, and Jamie would have been dead anyway. Dead by her own hand – god, they'd be so disappointed in her when they found out. Signing was Jamie's life. If she couldn't sing she couldn't live.

Hang the accusation of melodrama; Jamie would wear it proudly. Music was her life. That was all there was to it.

"You're awake."

Opening her eyes to look away from the turbulent melody inside her, Jamie turned towards the speaker.

Deus – no, Soldato-J 002's little brother, Jamie recognized him even though he was glowing pastel red. And had wings. 'nd a halo.

"...angels in Heaven look weird," Jamie stated.

The preteen standing at her bedside did not react.

Or I could have wound up in Purgatory.

The preteen reached out. His fingers brushing her right forearm felt weird, like she was wearing a large bracelet or a bracer of some kind. He pressed his hand firmly down.

Red light suffused Jamie from the inside out.

You are not dead.

The words were inside her head and they weren't her words at all. The were musical and brilliant and piccolo light and beat away the terrifying drum of Death's ever looming funeral march. The light and the words were like listening to one of grandfather's lectures.

Listen and attend. This is what has happened to you.

When Soldato-J 002 and Renais were summoned to the medical center, they found Arma in Purification Mode. Jessica Jamie Jenkins was clinging to him as though Arma were the last refuge over an abyss. Gasping wrenching sobs tore from her throat harsh enough to cause damage to her vocal processors. And when J moved to step closer and assist – Renais held him back.

They stood in silent attendance as a girl with a broken world cried herself to sleep.