During the next few weeks, there had been an increasing number of people who could've sworn they'd seen ghosts. Only, as usual, the majority thought it was merely hype built around an urban legend. The fact that so many described their experience in the same manner led the public to believe that this hype was organized over the internet.
Besides; what can a ghost possibly do that would be a real cause for alarm?
Jenny sat at her mother's main computer with many wires connected to the back of her head.
As Ms. Wakeman walked in through the door, she said "The last time you used my computer you had the same serious look on your face."
"Well…hold on a sec…here's the thing; I doubt anyone else has come up with this theory, but about those ghost sightings…yeah…wait…there it is. I'll stop right there for the time being. As you know mom, those weird dreams I had back then; I never told you this, but they never stopped totally. I'm not finished. I've seen a lot of weird things in my dreams, but I haven't seen anything like what those people have been describing. However, I do have a slightly unsettling feeling about it all. The theory I do have is what if Sigma was somehow still alive and he's found a way to make weird holographic images to scare people? It's just a thought. I'm accessing the Maverick Hunter artificial intelligence database from here and asking it if it thinks the two could possibly be related. I know this is stressful, but if he is still alive, it'd be safer to take him down before he has the chance to make it back on his feet," Jenny explained.
Ms. Wakeman sighed and said "At least you've been taking your global defense work seriously all this time, even without a major enemy to deal with. Sigma was such a problem, that honestly, I wish your theory were totally bogus sounding so I could scold you for being irrational. If it weren't for the advanced technology in this world, your theory would prove groundless."
"Oh, believe me. I wish it were totally groundless. The artificial intelligence database also agrees with me that it could all be possible provided Sigma managed to somehow survive. The good news is that it says that it's highly unlikely because Sigma has never been known to operate this way especially since he would likely have already guessed that one of us would've theorized this already because of the high likelihood of an ordinary human child also being able to quickly think up such a theory. With that in mind, the database has little reason to believe that most of the other Maverick Hunters haven't already thought up this theory on their own, but they chose not to bring this to the database's attention because they don't think Sigma would make such a childish mistake. That's good news for me. I was explaining that to you as it was telling me its thoughts. But even with all that aside, I still have an unsettling feeling about all this. I tried using my sensors to try and detect anomalies, but I'm not picking up anything of significance: just the usual energy fluctuations. The problem is…" Jenny said and then stopped in mid sentence.
"I think there's something else you haven't told me," Ms. Wakeman guessed.
"It's complicated. For well over a year now, I've been attempting using my sensors to sense everything I can possibly sense within my zone. I spend a few hours or so on it regularly. My slowly adjusting sensors being stressed to the limit has actually over time allowed me develop ways of increasing the spread of my zone. It sounds strange, but I've developed this nearly intoxicating need to try to understand the universe on a much deeper level. It's very much like what monks do when they meditate. I would also listen to everything I could hear as well at the same time. I would also think long and hard about everything that's happened in my life and the history of the world. I've realized some pretty interesting things while doing this, but the most relevant thing I realized is probably the most startling. I eventually stopped focusing so heavily on what I could make out about what my sensors could pick up and started focusing on what I knew my sensors could not. You didn't design me to sense every energy form known to man, so I downloaded hundreds of thousands of pages worth of detailed information on many types of energies I'm not equipped to sense. You didn't design me that way because you didn't see a need, but over time, my sensors did adjust to be able to sense them. Here's the strangest part about it all. Besides energies that haven't been discovered, I becoming more and more convinced that there is something else out there, but I don't know what. It doesn't seem anything like a conventional energy source. This sounds strange, but I can't actually sense that this 'force' is actually there, but I've noticed it for too long to dismiss it. Yeah, I know. How can I know if I can't sense it, right? The thing is; I notice it all the time now without even having to try. It's as if there is a gap…or rather…it's an energy source that can't be detected or analyzed using any means ever attempted. But it feels like there's so much more to it that I could ever imagine. You likely never picked up on it, but it's all around us. It's probably everywhere," Jenny explained.
A moment later, Ms. Wakeman said "I know you know me well enough by now not to even bring something highly unusual like this to my attention unless you were truly convinced of your own words. Many outrageous theories have been brought to my attention before: many I have accepted and many I have rejected with extreme prejudice. I have yet to be told something this outrageous before. You know my history very well, and with that, I will analyze your information only because you are telling me this with the utmost seriousness."
"Oh, believe me. I am fully aware of how farfetched this all sounds. It sounds like I'm stressed out to the point where I've started trying to invent reasons to be afraid of some unforeseeable threat. It sounds like I'm going crazy. If you remember, I've been quite a lot happier than I used to be for quite a while now. I only started becoming worried about this phenomenon within the past couple of months. In all seriousness, they way I want this to turn out, is for you to prove me wrong. I don't want another major crisis," Jenny replied.
"You're worried this phenomenon might turn out to be something destructive?" Ms. Wakeman asked.
"It's probably just the fear of not knowing, but this phenomenon is what is causing the unsettling feeling," Jenny answered.
"All right, fine. I will give it a thorough investigation. You were right about people from another dimension without even knowing it, so what's to say you're wrong about this. I have noticed that when you're this worried about something, you're almost always right. Oh yes, I did mean to ask you what exactly you were originally looking for when you started using your sensors in such a bizarre manner," Ms. Wakeman said.
"I was looking for everything," Jenny answered.
"What do you mean, everything?" Ms. Wakeman asked confused.
"Just that. I want to understand why things are the way they are. I want to know how they got this way. I want to know it all, or as much as I can possibly figure out within my lifetime. One example among many is when terrible things happen, I always want an explanation as to both why it happened from the mouth of the perpetrator, and I want to know why that person had to be the victim in the first place from a universal standpoint and not just from the standpoint of the few people that just happen to know about it. When people usually ask if that person deserved it or not, I don't want to live out the rest of my life never knowing the answer to that. And if that person didn't deserve it, then why? And even if they deserved it, should they still suffer? You know what I mean?" Jenny asked.
"But that's…you should know that most people would never attempt to try this. There's too much that we do not understand that seems unreachable. But I do understand where you're coming from. You're starting to question the legitimacy of your heroism. You're also questioning everything. You're learning how not to take everything for face value. You're so young, but you're thinking on a level far beyond the average person. When I made you, I never once thought that you might become what you are now. I think it's amazing, and I urge you to go all the way with what you're trying to accomplish. You've had a lot more time to focus on it daily recently because the world isn't expecting you to do quite so much for it anymore, but at the same time, don't let this quest for understanding interfere too heavily with your daily life," Ms. Wakeman replied.
"I'm able to balance it pretty well for the most part. I realize the dangers of getting lost on tangents. Anyway, I think I have enough information from that Maverick Hunter computer. I need to go upstairs and take care of a few things," Jenny said.
"All right then. I'll see you later," Ms. Wakeman replied.
Later on that evening, Brad walked in on Tuck while he was watching the news. He noticed that Tuck had a very worried expression on his face.
"You okay, Tuck?" Brad asked.
A moment of silence passed before Tuck finally pressed the off button on the remote.
In a worried tone, Tuck said "Brad. There are three dead and one missing."
"Okay, so…?" Brad asked.
"You wanna know the strange part, right? Here's the killer. The bodies are undamaged and have no trace of chemical or biological agents in them. The other guy just disappeared without a trace. What's worse…the apparent murder took place at a shipyard?" Tuck explained.
"If I say what I wanna say, you're reply will be something like 'Let's just wait a while until we receive updates on the case. Then we'll see.' The most likely explanation is that another reploid decided to go Maverick and they ended up as the first victims. Mavericks are scarce nowadays, but they do pop up from time to time and do thought provoking things with their special abilities. You really shouldn't let your imagination run away itself," Brad said before walking out of the room.
Angrily, Tuck thought to himself "Once again he doesn't listen to me. Whatever. I'm going to sleep."
Misty followed Axl to the other world. Their relationship was a bit turbulent and this was mainly because both of them felt so uneasy talking a lot about their deepest feelings. That's the way they've always been. One thing they both agreed with each other on was that they were grateful to see the worlds become so much more peaceful, but they were so used to fighting that they had acquired a very strong taste for it, and as a result, the peace made them feel jittery and restless a lot of the time. To quell their thirsts, they would often spar together. Sometimes they felt as though they still wanted the real thing.
Axl spent some of the money he had earned from his Maverick hunting to buy himself a spot of land and a house to live in. Misty decided to stay with him at least until they felt like they could take their relationship to the next level. The spot of land was in a rural area not far from the city the Maverick Hunter base was in.
One afternoon, they were both in the middle of training exercises. The exercise they were currently on was a difficult one, at least for Misty. Axl only needed to stand in one spot with his hands in front of his face. Misty held on to his wrists and held her body in place suspended off the ground completely horizontal as if she were lying on her front. She held that position for over twenty minutes and the stress was tremendous. The longer she held it, the more of her purple mist she released into the air. By this time, they were surrounded in a cloud of it.
She also knew that if she was going to do this, she was going to sweat a lot, so she was only wearing underwear and a bra. Axl was quite surprised at how little body fat she actually had and just how well toned her muscles were. He had yet to lay eyes on a woman with that kind of physique.
"You know, Misty, I actually like the way your mist smells," Axl commented with a grin.
Misty blushed harder than she had in her entire life. This caused her to lose a great deal of focus. He could tell by how her body jerked and not by her face because he could only see her hair. Her body lowered by a few degrees. She tried to regain focus, but her blushing was too intense. She then lowered herself to the ground on purpose and let go of Axl's wrists. While on her knees, she popped her shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints.
She then looked up at him still blushing, and then she asked "Why did you have to say that right then? That's so unfair."
She then started laughing as Axl dropped to his knees. He couldn't hold in his laughter either.
Soon after, Misty asked "I never noticed that my mist had a scent. Do you really like its smell?"
Axl crawled right in front of her, pulled her close to him, sniffed her hair, and then replied with his mouth next to her ear "Your hair gives off the strongest scent and not your sweat like you might be thinking. I can only smell the scent of your mist from your hair when you release large amounts of it. It's a smell I can't describe because I know of nothing else like it. It actually excites me for some reason."
Losing control of her emotions, Misty grabbed him, hugged him tight around his neck, and then began kissing him passionately.
