Deck: J0KER

By Chronic Guardian

Game IV: Rummy

Rules: Each player (ideally 3-4, though only 2 is also doable) is dealt a number of cards determined by regional rules, though commonly seven, and the rest of the deck is placed in the center as the stock. One card is drawn from the stock as the start of the discard pile. Play then commences as players take turns in a clockwise fashion, traditionally starting from the left of the dealer.

Each turn has three phases: 'pickup', 'play', and 'discard'. During 'pickup', the player can either choose to pickup either one from the stock or as many cards as he(or she) likes from the discard pile so long as they can play the bottom card on that turn. Then comes 'play'. Players may put down cards from his(or her) hand if they 1: have a run of three, or more, of the same suit(6,7,8 of Hearts, for example), 2:have a match of three, or more, of the same type (9s of Spades, Clubs and Diamonds), or 3: can play off of cards another player has played in a similar fashion (putting down the 9 of Hearts should either of the previous examples be in play). When playing "around the corner", kings may be chained to aces that are chained to twos.

After 'play', the player must then discard one card. This is especially important in ending the game, wherein a player have one last card remaining after his(or her) 'play' phase to discard and go 'out'.

Play continues until one player runs out of cards, at which point players count their cards and tally points. Face cards (and tens, by some rules) are worth ten points each, number cards are worth five, and aces are worth fifteen, unless played at the end of a three-two chain. Cards remaining in a player's hand count against him(or her). The player with the most points wins.

-J0KER, October 2104, Direct Retrievable Audio Wave #144: Conversation between members Ten and King as follows:

"Ms. Yutsui?"

"Mmm?"

"A word before we leave?"

"What? Got a lecture for how I ran that meeting back there? 'Ms. Koizumi! Make eye-contact and give clear examples!' A little late, don't you think? "

"...I was just curious about our last objective."

"Hmph. What? Did you forget the original meaning of J0KER?"

"I... don't follow."

"Alright..." *Sighs* "Everyone else keep moving. I've got a thing or two to nail into this numbskull here. Got it?"

"..."

"Okay, let me ask you a question, Renkuko Tanaka. Did you stop to wonder for a moment why I tried to contact you again after all these years? Or are you still running so witless that you can't even think yourself that far?"

"You needed my help. What more is there to it than that?"

"Ohhhh! So now that matters, huh? Great! Let's throw a party in honor of your breakthrough, shall we? It only took thirteen years!"

"Yutsui, calm yourself."

"...You've got some nerve, Ren. But, I guess... maybe that's why I asked you to come back. You're a stupid, self-righteous, self-absorbed little cretin of a man, but you're still..." *Huffs*

"Still... what?"

"You're... still the same man I looked up to... I guess—Look, you know I'm not good at this, okay?"

"...Yes, I know."

"—'But your capability does not decide the necessity of the skill', yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I've heard your lines a million times."

"Was I truly so monotonous?"

"You weren't. Doesn't mean your ghost hasn't been running on repeat ever since you left."

"My ghost?"

"...Look, you asked about the objective, right? Let's try not to get sidetracked. Just... keep it in mind: You may have taken a break from the game, but the Noise never did. Turns out they're worse than we thought."

"So what does that have to do with the surviving members then?"

"Shape shifters, psyche benders, something that we only got a glimpse of before the lab went silent. There's something out there, Ren, something that wants to get inside Deck. Watch your back. And if we ever split up, don't trust me or anyone else until you can see their eyes again. Okay?"

"Understood, Yutsui."

"...Ren, dear. I hope you really mean what you say this time."

"Trust me, I truly do."

-Close(DRAW#144)-

-J-

If there was a place colder or wetter than Hokkuro, Leo was quickly deciding it would be quite an adventure to find it. It wasn't raining when they departed, but it was a cold sort of humid that precipitated and soaked into his clothes. He'd been issued a rain poncho, cowl, and goggles at the transport's exit, but they weren't helping much.

They'd landed in what seemed to have been a conjunction courtyard. Benches made of black stone ringed the site where multiple concrete sidewalks crisscrossed and lead to different parts of the compound. At each exit, a simple black arch constructed of twisted black metal marked the end of the yard, and the beginning of everything that wasn't included in the current sanctuary.

Looming in the east was the black domed tower Koizumi had indicated when pointing out the area Leo and his group were to search. Viewing it in person, Leo could see that the tower ran up the side of a bluff that cut through the compound, creating a natural terracing effect in the structure layouts.

They must've chosen me because they think I can free run it, Leo concluded, studying the stark height difference the tower climbed. Perhaps there was an easy way about it, but from here it looked pretty impervious. Leo grinned to himself. Challenge accepted.

Some of the members who'd been with the group longer gathered for a goodbye. They exchanged hugs, waves, and a weird salute thing nobody'd done up to this point. Nel, the girl who'd been assigned Leo's squad, left to have a similar ceremony with the guy she hung out with.

Thus, Leo was left to stand with Izo, the blue-haired Four, and watch.

Watch, shiver, and try to make good use of the items they'd been given to combat the weather as more dampness crept up their pant legs.

"You're on the power supply team, right?" Leo asked his fellow outcast hopefully. The sooner they got going, the sooner this guy could get the heaters on this place working. The thought alone was enough for Leo to cling to while they waited for the valediction to abate.

The gangly anti-socialite simply gave an irate "hmph". Apparently weather like this didn't put him in the mood for talking.

"Good luck," Leo said with a smile hidden by his cowl, ignoring the other young man's attitude. "Try to keep warm, right?"

"That shouldn't be a botheration, " The Four finally responded. "A geothermal plant should exude enough pertinacious torridity to make these conditions obsolete, even if they are the current mainspring."

"Current... mainspring?" Leo chuckled and turned to face the blank, reflective stare of Izo's goggles. "And how's that? I mean... wouldn't that mean they'd be heating this place up?"

"Precisely," Izo nodded. "The heat is currently what's causing the moisture to humidify and permeate our garments. Still like the inkling?"

"..." It was slowly dawning on Leo that maybe this guy didn't want to talk. Shrugging to himself, the Ace tugged at his cowl and turned back to watching the farewell party he hadn't been invited to.

Why are we waiting anyway?

Suddenly, the whole assembly snapped to attention as Ms. Koizumi emerged from the back of the transport with Mr. Tanaka in tow.

Oh, right. Leo put his hands on his hips and looked down. She told us to go on ahead... Wonder what that was about.

"What?" King Koizumi asked calmly in answer to the crowd's attention. "You've got your orders. We are burning daylight here."

Beside Leo, Izo quickly left to join his squad. There was a brief moment of standing awkwardly alone in the cold before Leo was joined by three poncho-and-cowl-cloaked figures he assumed were his squad. How did they tell it was him anyway?

"Mind reading," one of them murmured, tapping their head as they slung their pack over their shoulder. "Although I'm told there are other ways."

"What?" A member near Leo's height with a fair hued braid dangling out from her poncho hood (Ms... Reagan, was it?) tilted a look at the speaker. "Umm... want to explain that one?"

"He was wondering how to tell us apart," the operative, probably the much-talked about Ayumu, answered with a half-shrug as he walked on down the path towards the tower. "And, as you can understand, I'm sure, mind reading will only work as a solution for me. For the rest of you, Collin mentioned something about an emblem, or a fringe or something. I just... can't confirm it."

"Oh!" Leo exclaimed. On closer inspection, each poncho did have a circular badge with a different icon embroidered in silver thread. A flaring star, a flower bloom, and a wrench looked back at Leo's own argent running shoe. The freerunner laughed. "Well, that's cool!"

"Yes, so is the weather," Ayumu replied in a deadpan tone. "Keep moving, Leo. The cliff's up ahead."

"You heard 'em, Parky!" the last member of the group, obviously Pokoni, punched Leo in the arm as he passed and marched purposefully towards the tower. "We've got some monkey business for ya to handle!"

"R-right!" Leo answered belatedly before he joined them in step. M-monkey business? "Let's do this!"

The sidewalk didn't last long. In it's place, a series of metal planks that had been grooved for traction quickly ran out from under the archway that declared the border of the makeshift landing zone and twisted through a group of ovular constructions supported by a spindly web of metallic legs. The things kind of resembled giant, gray eggs if you looked at them right. From there, Leo assumed it led to the looming tower and the residential grounds it guarded.

"What are these?" Pokoni asked, stumping suspiciously up to one of the monstrous eggs and running his gloved hands over its exterior. "Did they discover dinosaur eggs in Hokkuro?"

"I don't know," replied Ayumu. The blind boy tilted his head back slightly, as if to study the sky, or perhaps test the wind on his nose. "I feel... something inside. But they might just be decorations. The guy in charge of this place was kind of... weird."

"Are they mechanical?" Ms. Reagan gingerly rapped a knuckle against one of the ovals further up the road. The object gave a dull "clunk" with each impact. "I wonder what's inside..."

Pokoni twitched and perked up "Wait! Maybe it's like a Easter egg! If we can bust it open, there'll be all sorts'a loot inside!"

"Only if 'loot' gives off O-Energy," Ayumu shot down the diminutive dreamer's fantasies without remorse. By now, he and Leo were the only ones making steady progress on the slope. "Maybe it's even a Noise..."

"WHAT?!" Pokoni promptly leapt backwards. Throwing his left hand in front, to guard against whatever imagined threat the metal egg held in incubation, the boy snapped with his right index finger. A tiny ball of fire popped into existence in his palm, twitching in the northerly winds as it waited to dispose of the yet-to-appear enemy.

"...Or maybe it's just one of the Zetta Squad's experiments," Ayumu finished with a shrug. "They were doing research on O-Energy infusion here. This is the birthplace of the Hearts' weapons, you know.

"Or... you would know if you knew what the Hearts' weapons are," the Jack corrected himself, crossing his arms. "Because Hearts usually don't have directly offensively oriented powers, they're issued O-Energy imbued weapons that technically any civilian could wield if it came down to it. These devices probably collect and store the energy used for that."

"Speaking of storage..." said Ms. Reagan, standing up from her investigation and heading back towards the path. "Where are we staying tonight?"

"Huh?!" Pokoni's cowl and goggles were as impassive as ever, but Leo could vividly imagine the kid's face screwing up in indignant confusion. "Where did that come from?"

"It's a little passed noon right now," the young woman replied, her fingers idly playing with her wrench badge. "Will we have time to get back to the transport by nightfall?"

"Probably not," Ayumu said. Despite the uncertain wording, his phrasing made it sound like an absolute statement. "We should establish a foothold in the living quarters before then. The South Section should do."

"Wait..." Leo frowned as they passed out of the forest of metallic eggs and found themselves crossing a natural bridge over a streak of vents. "South Section? So then... there's more than one part to the living quarters?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" It was Ms. Reagan who admonished him this time. "The housing terrace was about as big as the other lab grounds combined on the map. There was a half-pipe building bridging the two halves that took up most of the space, though."

"Right, the greenhouse," Ayumu supplied, tapping two fingers to his opposite palm. "In order to escape over-reliance on supply runs, the Hokkuro labs cultivate up to ninety-eight-percent of the food supply for a full staff on site. They say it's a jungle in there."

"Okay, okay, great, so there's a big greenhouse," Leo pressed on as he processed the exposition and tried to think of an intelligent conjecture to make with it. "Sooo... then how big is the staff?"

"And how are they growing anything here without giving themselves radiation poisoning?" Reagan cut in. "This was the site of a bombing in the War, right?"

"The staff size used to fluctuate," Without turning around, Ayumu pointed to Leo while he answered to show whose question he was addressing first. "Until Minamimoto Double-Junior took over, this used to be a liquidators foothold. As many as one thousand were housed on site at any one time. That meant four hundred in the North Section, four hundred in the South, and the last two hundred took to the East Shelter. Because of their work, the area has been fully decontaminated of irradiation for the past twenty years, making safe agricultural practice possible. Once Deck bought out the base and refurbished it into a lab, we converted plots of the north and south sections into the greenhouse area."

"How many people could the base hold then?" Reagan asked, moving to Leo's side of the inquiry now that hers had been satisfied. "After the conversion, I mean."

"Each section could probably house a hundred and fifty," Ayumu lazily murmured. "But... we only had about ten at the time of the incident."

"Only ten?!" Pokoni blanched, doubling over as if the remark made him sick. "For a place 'dis big? Bleaugh! What a waste!"

Leo chuckled at the unpredictable Seven's reaction. "Why? What would you do with it?"

"I'd fill it with O-Gene warriors! Duh!"

"To do what?"

"To kick Noise-butt! Duh! C'mon, Parky, don't ya got ANY imagination?"

"It'll show later," Ayumu cut in smoothly before Pokoni could realize Leo was holding in a laugh. " In the meantime, we need to figure out how to deal with this."

"Huh?" Leo wiped ineffectively at his goggles before settling for blinking his mirthful tears away. "What d'you... oh! Gotcha!"

Looming before them was the dividing bluff. Naturally, it looked much bigger in person than it had on the miniature. Like a creaky set of stairs forming out of the black cliff face, deteriorating terraced plots climbed their way up the smooth rocks, each about ten feet in height difference.

It was doable. Or... doable for Leo. Ayumu probably couldn't. Pokoni probably had the energy, but not the finesse. As for Reagan... Leo shifted the girl a curious examining look that she apparently didn't notice just yet. The majority of her form was indistinguishably mantled in her rain poncho, but just from the way she moved he suspected she would be good at climbing. Maybe he could give her a quick lesson...

"Umm... hey, Parky?"

Leo threw a glance back at Pokoni before looking back to the battered cliff and wetting his lips. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Why aren't we using the doors to get through?"

What? Oh! Right, the tower! Leo gave a small laugh. "Oh, that." The freerunner took a step back and rubbed his head as he examined the much less challenging alternate route. "Well, Umm... Ayumu?"

"Like they said at briefing, this place is under 'dead'-lockdown," Ayumu helpfully obliged. "None of the doors will open without power and an access code."

"Hmm... ain't got nuttin' for an access code," the antsy redhead boy admitted grudgingly. "What about with a pack of Poko-special ballistics? Would that work too?"

"Better not," The blind blond shook his head.

"...Why not?" It was Reagan this time that posed the question. She was standing at the doors to the tower now and was fiddling with the keypad beside it. "I mean, will it come out of our paycheck or... ah, yes, there is that."

"There's what?!" Pokoni demanded, stamping his foot in indignance at being left out of the current train of thought. "Come ooon! Why come I can't just do some fireworks?!"

"Security measures," Ayumu explained. "As a last resort against the Noise in a 'dead'-lockdown the doors are rigged to respond in kind to high-energy signatures."

"Okay..." Leo bobbed his head slowly. "So, in other words..."

"He blasts the door and the door blasts back?" Reagan said, taking a cautious few steps away from the barricade. "Huh... yeah, we should probably try something else then. Any ideas Leo?"

Leo quirked an easy smile under his cowl and looked back to original option: scaling the cliff. "Well... I guess I could come up with something. What powers am I working with here? Ballistics, Acceleration, and... mind reading?" he listed, pointing to each member in turn and ending with a slightly off note as he tried to figure out how the heck he could use mind reading in this situation. "Heheh... umm. Well, I guess if we can't find steps, we'll... make our own?"

Reagan paused a moment, then nodded. "Okay... How?"

"Well, Pokoni could—"

"Yeah, but would the cliff stay up?"

"Oh..." Leo trailed off and put a hand to his chin. "Umm... Good point."

"Rrrrmgph!" The earth gave an irritated groan. Around the four operatives, the air seemed to shimmer and darken, as if a fog were rolling in out of nowhere. Out of the distortion, a set of blood red streaks slowly slid open and ebony claws clacked as they swirled into existence.

"But there's no time like the present to find out!" The Ace quickly added, thumping his right fist down into his open left hand. "Pokoni," he pointed at the Star-badged Seven, then at the cliff behind them. "I need you to make a path up that you and Ayumu can climb. Ayumu, I need you to tell me what the heck we can do against these things. Reagan? You... umm..."

"Yah!" The girl grunted and lunged at an emerging snout, bearing her weight down into a blow. The forming draconic face emitted a surprised shriek and slammed into the ground, the rest of its body falling in a gangly heap as it finished its entrance.

"That'll work!" Leo approved, grinning to himself. Turning back to the blind boy, the freerunner tilted his head. "Now, about our powers?"

"Pokoni works in fire power. Explosions, to be specific," The Jack replied. "Ms. Reagan acts as a potential energy accelerator. She can convert the potential energy of an object into kinetic energy. As for me—" He lifted a hand at the next approaching lizard coming out of the air. Immediately, a golden aura surrounded the creature's head and twisted it three-sixty degrees. There was a sickening crack and the beast went limp and began to fade in black and white particles, as if it were turning in to old television static. "—Let's just call it a metaphysical extension.

"You, lastly, are an energy conduit. You can draw in high-energy from a distance as well as copy certain O-Abilities to a degree while in the presence of the original."

Leo looked down at his own hands and tried to imagine the same golden aura coming off of them. "So I could do what you just did?"

"You could always try it."

Another three of the lizard things – no, Dragons (They had wings) – had made their way onto the cramped landing and the one Reagan had grounded was now gathering itself for a counter.

Boom!

Leo flinched and reflexively threw a glance over his shoulder before he remembered his orders to Pokoni.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The kid had really taken it to heart, creating a series of landslides to send the rocky sides of the cliff into sloping disarray. Dirt and pebbles rained down, pelting the battleground and causing the assembled Drakes to take notice of the terraforming Seven.

"Oh, no you don't!" Leo declared, stepping in front of his young charge and trying to visualize the same flames coming from his hands. In response, his fingers emitted a small wave of sparks that quickly died in the north winds.

Exchanging gutteral clicks, the Noise seemed to decide among themselves that Leo didn't count as a viable authority. The mutant reptilians then gathered together and charged the group. Ayumu knocked one sideways with whatever his extension thing was and Reagan sent another flying by a hit to its underbelly, but that still left two sets of fangs and claws bearing down on them.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut and tried again to visualize heat, power, and anything else he could associate with an explosion. C'mon, Leo, think! THINK!

"NEXUS RAY!"

There was a brief instant of searing heat ripping through the air in the wake of the bellow before everything went still.

Is this... death ?

As Leo cracked his eyes open again on relatively the same scene, as well as an acute awareness of the still dismal temperature conditions, his mind slowly accepted that he was still, in fact, alive and present.

It also accepted that the two Dragons that had been about to seal his fate had turned into a charred crater. Beyond the smoking site of their demise, the bridge leading into the section seemed to have taken some damage.

"Who...?" Leo whipped a glance back towards Pokoni, trying to discern if the kid was responsible. The diminutive Seven, frozen in mid sling, gave a small, shaky shrug.

"Him," Ayumu said queitly. Leo looked to the blind boy before following the direction of his point up the cliff face.

Standing at the top, arms crossed, a stocky figure in a glistening, leathery jacket stared down at them. It was hard to tell from this distance, but Leo could've sworn there was something covering the newcomer's right eye. In response to the stares, the guardian hulk hefted a grunt and looked away.

"'Bout time you butter fish showed up."

"..."

"What? Ain'tchu gots somethin' ta say? Or are ya a bunch of lost turrists?"

"..."

"Fine..." The man sighed and began stalking his way down the slope towards them. Soon enough, Leo could see that the man indeed had a patch marked with six silver studs over the right side of his face. He had a strong chin, wild, short cropped blond hair, and a soft set frown that twitched as he examined the Deck Operatives with his good eye. "Can see you're just a buncha rug-tossing windbags, so I guess that leaves it ta me ta get us outta here!"

"Umm... who are—?" Leo began, gathering himself in the face of the rather loud and presumptuous survivor.

"What? They didn't tell ya?" The bulky blond man balked. "C'mon! I thought every wise-crackin' hopscotch on this side a the Okhotsk got a proper briefin' before getting' thrown out into the field!"

Leo exchanged a look with Reagan. Despite the goggles both were wearing, he had the feeling they were wearing similar expressions.

"Ahhh... what the ruckus..." The man went on, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Fine... I guess I can tell you buncha napkin dispensers."

Sticking a thumb to his chest, the man took a proud stance and grinned wide. "Call me 'Die'."

"Oh!" Leo looked again at the studs on the man's eyepatch, set in two lines like the six on a pair of dice. Guess that makes him a lucky seven if you count his other eye... "So you were stationed at—?"

"But for the record," The man pressed on, apparently concerned with getting the whole introduction in before anything else was said. "The booky's all just say 'Daisuke Bito'; Former J0KER and O-Gene conduit."

-J-

Hokkuro.

It wasn't actually what the realm was called on maps. Depending on how far you went back, you could sometimes find it listed as Rumoi, although the blanket district of Kamikawa was more common. During the Third World War, the region had been home to a number of development labs and factories. They provided a much needed boost to the Allied efforts and were once hailed as "the arrow flying true in the storm".

In the closing days of the war, Rumoi had been bombed; heavily and repeatedly, until the earth was black and the once even hills became a jagged, open wound breathing geothermal gases through cracked lips.

And so it became known as Hokkuro, the "blackened" Hokkaido.

Hmph... the soot of years catch the temper like maggots to a loan bread loaf, Izo mused bitterly as he tailed behind his teammates and observed the forlorn revenant structures. Just south of the courtyard, leading into the flank of the fencing mountains, a passage had been hewn. As if in reply to the further injury inflicted before even its war scars had somewhat healed, the range had been spewing copious amounts of hot gas up into the area ever since.

But how do we purchase access while the place is locked down and we have yet to purloin a passcode? Izo scowled and crossed his arms as the company gathered outside the entrance. A fine bunch of twitties I've landed myself with! Feh!

"Arisa?" Ayane asked calmly, nodding towards the door barring their way.

"NP, your royalness," Arisa, the acronym addicted Five, shot back. She cracked her knuckles, above her head, placed a hand on the door, and took a wide stance before she uttered in a loud voice, "Transmutation!"

The door buckled and heaved, as if it Arisa had given it a sneeze. The dark metal contorted and compressed, twisting into a short cylinder with odd growths protruding along its length.

Eventually it came to a rest in the form of what Izo assumed to be a crude firearm.

The Blue-haired poet narrowed his eyes and gritted, "...Do all the doors here do that?"

"They could," Arisa assured him, retrieving the gun from the ground and turning to give what undoubtedly would have been an obnoxious smile had her cowl not the good grace of covering it up. "But not by default, no."

"She's a morpher," Rueban, the boy who had to be brothers with the blind brat of a Jack, offered coolly. "Only a basic one right now, hence the Five, but—"

"MYM, Rue!" The member in question retorted, sounding a little mock hurt. "C'mon, I'm the best morpher you guys have!"

"True; as well as the only morpher we have," Rueban stated patiently, passing the Five and leading the way into the newly uncapped tunnel. "You still can't actually transform material types, you're limited to manipulating form. You probably don't even have functional bullets in that gun."

"Hey!" Arisa spat back, although from the way she flinched it seemed like the boy had a valid conjecture. "Don't make me—!"

"Arisa," Ayane cut in, still serene as ever. "Thank you for safely removing the door. May we now proceed?"

Arisa paused, arms winding for a full on rant. "But he..."

"Which is why he's not the Nine."

"...Fine."Arisa sighed and shook her head, collecting herself. "Yeah... you're right. Besides, he'll need me just as bad for the next door we run into."

Just like Rei. Izo scowled and quickly set about following Rueban into the underground access tunnels leading to the generator. Well... maybe a little more refined, but the girl was still exhibiting the childish mannerisms that typified Izo's foster-sister. At least I'm not paired with that ganguro brat, Izo conceded. Heaven rest the soul of whoever received such a doom.

As they moved deeper in, the natural light filtering in from outside quickly ran out. Izo almost paused to allow someone else to fumble a torch out of their survival pack when Rueban spoke up.

"Luminescence." A ball of light blipped out and hovered over the Eight's hand, effectively mooting the notion of electrical alternatives. With his other hand, the boy shaded the light source and nodded his head towards the path ahead. "Shall we?"

"Why not employ that sooner?" Izo muttered, crossing his arms as they continued their march.

"What you can see also sees you," Rueban answered. "There's a certain Noise type attracted to places like this; I'd rather not wake it up by accident."

The passage way, not simply hewn from the rock, was lined with softly gurgling pipes that had seen better service days. Surprisingly, the humidity wasn't quite as bad as Izo would've expected, although it was still a mite bit warm for his tastes. As the other members began to shed and stow their rain gear in their packs, Izo took a moment to do the same. The air, now unbridled by the sterilized cowl, took on a distinct musty flavor with a sulfuric tinge. Izo took a small wiff and wrinkled his nose. Hopefully this isn't toxic...

"CARD, blueprints."

Izo turned on the soft-spoken command to see Ayane with her CARD floating in front of her, holographically displaying the same floor plans that Koizumi had shown them back on the TRUMP. A small red blip that Izo assumed to be their current location blinked languidly.

"Routes to back up power generator and main generator, please," Ayane continued. Obediently, a green line ran to and highlighted a rectangular chamber not far from the current position. Forming at the far side, a blue line continued the path deeper underground. The cerulean guide scurried through a series of switchback staircases before finally effusing its hue through a large room located directly beneath the landing courtyard.

Izo felt his scowl twitch as he observed the exodus. "...Feh."

"What?" Arisa flipped her peach hair, tinged green by the hologram, as she turned to give Izo a questioning look.

"Why would we need directions?" Izo growled, crossing his arms. "What else could possibly inhabit the subterranea other than the geothermal generators?"

Ayane's patient listening expression gave way to a small smile. "CARD," she ordered, locking eyes with Izo. "Directions to hydraulic, septic, broadcast, and observational systems, please."

"Access tunnels and vestigial installations?" a rich, baritone voice replied from the device.

"Please."

A myriad of branching lines, each annotated by a small marker of its color, spewed forth from the red dot and quickly filled in the entirety of the lab grounds with a tightly packed submerged network.

"You may undo that order," Ayane allowed after a moment. Quickly, the image shifted back to the green and blue layout that only included the generator rooms. "That, Mr. Shuito, is why. In the case that we become separated, please do not assume there is only one path ahead. Use your CARD and keep your head. Understood?"

"...Transparently," answered Izo grudgingly. Behind his circular shades, he mentally slapped himself for questioning her. He knew she wasn't stupid. He'd just been hoping he was wrong.

"Good, then let's move out."

Izo dragged his feet, but followed the group all the same. Loathsome as he was to have company, being left in the dark felt like a decidedly stupid action so far as survival was concerned.

Only a little further in, the distant set of thumps shook the passage, causing the operatives to halt.

"What d'you suppose that's all about?" Arisa asked, still looking up at the ceiling, even as silence and stability settled in.

"Probably Noise," Rueban guessed with a shrug, bobbin the light he was holding with the motion. "Naturally, that means we should hurry it up. If part of the hive knows we're here..."

Izo gave the Eight a suspicious look. "What are you insinuating when you say 'hive'?"

"Noise are at least semi-intelligent," Rueban answered, walking down the corridor. The rest of the group conscientiously stayed within the range of his lamp and moved as if strung along by the bobbing light source. "Although it hasn't been decisively concluded, it's suspected that they understand basic strategy, as well as the concept of retribution."

"I thought they were already belligerent," Izo remarked, rolling his eyes at Rueban's redundancy.

"They are. But if there is a specific group targeting them, such as ourselves, it makes sense that they'd direct their aggression accordingly."

Izo again bit his tongue and made note to not tangle wits with this member either. Perhaps his own wit had grown dull with such a lax opponent as Rei.

At least Arisa still seemed well outside the range of intellectually threatening. Were the whole group beating him at his own game, he may as well just stop moving and wait for the Noise to find him.

"Okay, so WtPoA?" the peach haired Five asked tersely, giving their surroundings a once over with the hopefully-operational firearm she'd crafted from the door. "We'll need space to put up a good fight."

"Then be careful not to damage the back up generator," Ayane said, taking the lead as they came upon another door. Across the top, the words "Relay #1" had been written in write paint. "If that goes down, then we won't have power until we reach the main generator. Arisa?" the Queen gestured towards the portal. "If you would?"

Arisa raised her eyebrows and smiled brightly as she acquiesced.

I would be happy too, Izo mused, if I were only useful once in a blue moon.

Just like before, Arisa put her hand on the door and uttered the magic word and, just like before, the metal obediently peeled and buckled beneath her grip. It rippled, almost life like, and crunched down into a new form.

"So, assuming that we do run into a Noise," Izo sighed, averting his eyes from the contorting material. "What would you have us do?"

Ayane didn't look back as she addressed him. In place of her eyes, the ribbon resting on the back of her head favored him with its soft gaze. "I'd like you to immobilize it. Just form ice on it to weigh it down at first, but once it's on a solid surface you'll need to ground it. Rueban and Arisa can handle the rest."

The blue-haired teen snorted. "Why not simply kill it in the first place?"

"Its strong," Ayane stated, her usual, simple tone just as prevalent as ever. "The Vespertillio Canor will take more than a few hits to decommission."

"Oh?" Izo squinted at the be-ribboned young woman as an oddity crossed his mind. "And how do you know exactly what this creature is? We've yet to see it, haven't we?"

"Well... I admit, most of it is conjecture," she answered evenly. "But, given the conditions, I do have a fair claim to confidence. The Vespertillio is a large bat-Noise that only comes in the dark and has an affinity for electrical outlets. They feed on it like nectar. If the self-monitoring geothermal systems failed, I think it naturally means a Vespertillio could be in the area. You understand?"

"Umm... Aya?" Arisa interrupted. The strawberry blonde seemed to have lost her air of ill-founded self-confidence for the moment. "What classifies a Verspertillio?"

Ayane gave her subordinate a curious look. Izo felt his own face draining of color.

"I mean... what if the thing that's in there—I mean! Umm... what might be in there... what if it's bigger than a Vespertillio?"

As if in reply, two blood red slits, each the size of Izo's head, slid open behind Arisa and lazily blinked.

"...Don't move."

Before anyone could react to the Queen's command, she took hold of Izo and extended her other hand towards the looming threat. The air chilled as glimmering, crystalline particles arched from her fingers, narrowly missed Arisa, and and crunched against the creature occupying the room beyond.

"Luminescence!" Rueban wasn't far behind, transforming his lantern into a prolonged beam. He hit the recoiling mass of shrieking fur straight between the eyes, illuminating its golden body and enormous wings in a burst of blue light.

"My turn!" Arisa declared placing a hand on the ground. "Transmutation!"

Sprouting from the ground, a series of metal spikes shot up into the monster's body, pinning it to the ceiling.

And then the room was dark again. The futile wing flapping and angry gargling of the Noise filled the empty space and washed over Izo's senses. The icy teen reeled into the wall and threw his arms over his ears to block out the horrid cacophony, punctuated by the quick patter of something repeatedly hitting the walkway.

At last, suddenly, with a final squawk of anguish and a deadened flash, the chamber was still again.

Cautiously, and half expecting the creature to act up, Izo let down his guard and tried to dig out his CARD to use for light.

"Ayane!" Rueban cried out, causing Izo to fumble the device and drop it to the ground with a mocking clatter. "The generator! Fire into the generator!"

Izo, too tired to scowl, simply tried to track the sound with his eyes. What in the world is he—?

The room was again bathed in light, effusing from a single figure standing where the Noise had been just a moment ago. Flanking the victor on either side were enormous piston, like structures and other mechanical paraphernalia that Izo assumed constituted the generator. It was upon these contraptions that the light eventually came to focus, pouring out from the figure and into the metal framework.

It slowly occurred to Izo that the figure was Ayane.

Right... the battery. He closed his eyes and inhaled, getting to his feet as the generators groaned to life and lights flickered on. But where did she get all that power? I thought her abilities were strictly tactile.

"Wow... that was kinda reckless," Arisa said, joining Rueban and Ayane in the room. "You could've been checking into the pine-box hotel if the thing had been just a little stronger."

Rueban helped Ayane up and sighed. "She's right. Take in too much O-Energy and you might do something... permanent."

The Queen took a moment to dust herself off, before setting her jaw and giving a curt nod. "...Agreed."

"So then... why do it?" Arisa asked, hands on hips as she leaned forward inquiringly. "I mean, you know that as the leader you're not expendable, right?"

Ayane reflected the girl's concerned look. "As a Deck member, I have a responsibility to do what only I can do to ensure the success of the mission. If we let that fight go any longer, we'd risk damaging the first power source."

"And what exactly is so vital about the lights being on when we have the Eight here?" Izo grumbled, finally entering the large room and pointing to Rueban. Or does the boy have limits?

"It's more than the lights, Izo," Ayane gave a small smile, one that almost looked sad. She tightened her hair ribbons and turned to continue on. "In order to access the laboratory's logs and uncover what happened, as well as unlock the deeper sanctuaries of the facility, we need the power to be on."

"Feh, a faulty organization," the bespectacled poet adjusted his glasses and glared at the generators, as if it were somehow their fault that the grounds relied upon them. "Something like this and it all goes down."

"Well... normally the original staff would have restarted things by now," Rueban told the blue-haired teen.

"And they haven't... why?"

"If I knew I would've told Ayane," the blond boy shrugged, rather pointedly referring to the Queen rather than Izo himself. "Nothing for it but to play along for now."

"Yep! FDTRH," Arisa intoned, linking arms with the Eight (much to his disgruntlement, apparently). "C'mon, that Noise did a real number on these things, so we've only got so long before the back up runs out. The main generator awaits!"

Izo looked back longingly at the path behind and sighed. Play along, eh? Was he really nothing more than a puppet being strung along? Simply another member brought along for the journey? Ayane had acted like a fool, putting herself in danger like that. She accepted her life as simply one more cog in the greater machine. Even the other members had said as much.

Still... it was what had decided the encounter.

Is that what they expect out of me?

Izo shook his head and hesitantly put one foot in front of the other. He didn't want to be a pawn. He couldn't allow himself to become just another piece to be played.

The blue-haired boy set his slender jaw and glared at the path ahead. Well, if he was going to play, he was going to do it by his rules. He was going to become powerful enough to move his own limbs and save his own skin the next time they met a threat. Strong enough to not rely on this organization that would use and discard him simply as a matter of principle.

One way or another, he was going to stand on his own feet next time.

-J-

"So until the power's up and running again, we'll just be doing things the hard way," Koizumi finished, while gliding her gloved hand against the metal door leading into the main laboratories. "Now stand back, would you, dears?"

Getotsu and the other members of his group, Master Tanaka and the energetic girl called Kyasako, gave the King berth without argument. They'd trekked to the lab entrance and removed their protective equipment in silence, an act that surprisingly even Kya had managed. Once there, however, the ganguro girl had gotten up the nerve to ask why they weren't using doors.

Koizumi had then made absolutely certain of two things. First: that the entire group understood the doors were currently rigged to rather maliciously greet potential users unless properly persuaded otherwise. And second: that so long as everyone kept their mouths shut and did exactly what the King said (directly including, in most cases, nothing), things would go much smoother.

Staring hard at the door, Koizumi took a deep breath and spread her arms wide as if tearing a rift in the air. "Blackhole!"

The door answered with an upset hiss and a popping gurgle before crumpling into submission as its threatening emanations were silenced. Pausing only to shake her wrists loose, the King cracked her neck and headed inside.

Master Tanaka followed without hesitation. Getotsu had never known the man to shrink from anything; Whoever Koizumi was to him, she obviously knew he could be counted on.

Which then begs the question of why she chose us, the silver haired man mused as he looked to Kyasako, who was still slightly embarrassed about how Koizumi had taken her question. The ganguro girl shyly met his eyes but didn't hold contact.

Getotsu put on an assuring smile. She probably felt like a small nuisance right now; insignificant and bumbling.

Mistakes are either the bars that bind us from success, or the steps leading to it, Master Tanaka's patient instruction noted faithfully in Getotsu's head. Do not choose to be discouraged, choose to be successful.

"Shall we?" The sunken-eyed man asked, offering his hand.

The girl warily gazed up with wide, hopeful eyes. Slowly, she placed her mocha-brown fingers in his soft, beige ones. Giving the connection a small shake, as if to test it's sturdiness, she returned his smile with a wide grin. "Th-thanks, Mister Ghetto!"

Holding back the gut reaction to the misinformed abbreviation, Getotsu nodded.

Apparently that one little nudge was all that Kya needed to get back to her usual chipper self. Skipping along beside the silver-haired man, she set her eyes ahead and hummed an off-tune melody. Seeing his purpose fulfilled, Getotsu almost tried to gently break their link before he relented and allowed himself to be dragged along.

Besides, she was going the same direction as Koizumi and Master Tanaka anyway.

They found the pair of senior operatives in a dusky main lobby, facing two elevator doors and a third leading to a darkened stairwell. Like the oval office back at the tower base, the walls were lined with display boards, though these ones were powered down. What equations did these ones hold, I wonder? Getotsu squinted at the blank screens, trying to see the vigorous finger strokes that had once danced across their surface.

"Until the power's back, we're stuck with the stairs," Koizumi sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose. "And the files we're looking for, not to mention the remaining staff, are probably holed up on the bottom floor."

"Which is... how far down?" Getotsu asked, fishing his CARD out of his pocket to consult it on the matter.

"There are twelve basement levels," the King answered, surprisingly acquiescent for once. "Each organized by subject. B-1 was liquidator's research; we kept it just in case there was a resurgence. B-2 was hydroponic repair and operation, B-3 was Geothermal enhancement, and so on. Basements six through twelve all have to do with O-Energy research and development."

"So in other words, it won't be until we're six floors down that we'll even begin to find anything pertinent," Master Tanaka evaluated, crossing his arms. "And knowing Deck, we'll need passcodes too."

"Passcodes the past members took with them when they disappeared," Getotsu nodded, navigating his CARD menu. Having answered his question about the depths of the site, he instead set his card simply to a function marked 'illuminate'. "Quite a quandary then..."

"Like... who are we looking for anyway?" Kya asked, apparently having fully forgotten the consequences of the last question she'd posed to the King.

Surprisingly though, Koizumi actually seemed to think it valid, if taxing, to answer. "...They're a group called the Zetta Squad," She sighed, saying the title with a disdainful drawl. "It was the Director's grandson... he went a little off the deep end with mathematics. Brilliant, but crazy. Anyway, the kid had talent, so he got assigned his own group of Blanks and earned the Hokkuro Labs as his personal domain. He made good on it though. Every advance he made for us put a bigger dent in the Noise breakouts."

"Then the stake is twofold," said Master Tanaka, examining the empty desks of the lobby, searching for some kind of clue. "Not only is this of great personal significance to the Director, but it also holds the key to stopping the Noise."

The auburn haired King twitched an ambivalent frown and moved towards the stairwell, drawing her own CARD as she did so and quickly activating the same function Getotsu had. "Could be."

"...You think otherwise, Yutsui?"

"Let's leave it at this," Koizumi sighed, her face flickering in the ghostly light of her CARD. "We could possibly recover Double-Junior's research through another member, a satellite member of J0KER who was on base at the time, and I'm not to keen on having a conversation that's half-math. The only reason we need the kid specifically would be for the Director's sake."

The response, though cold, was predictable by this point. Getotsu narrowed his eyes in thought as they followed down the stairs. The King had a point though: conjecture and emotional connection were fairly useless in this setting. In order to cover any ground on what had actually happened, they'd need to look at it objectively. Taking a bracing breath, Getotsu asked, "What were they researching?"

"It was... well, is, way above a normal member's clearance level" the auburnette answered with only the slightest hint of hesitation. "But there's no point in sending you into this blind. Enhancements on the O-Gene, dimensional portals, and a certain psyche called the 'Eden Field'. These would all be game changers if they made it to press, so I guess it only natural the Noise would strike if they found out about it."

Master Tanaka straightened slightly, apparently having caught some crucial detail. "...So then, why would they?"

Koizumi gave a weary sigh. "...Exactly."

Exchanging a look with Kya, the other member who hadn't quite understood the significance of the statement, Getotsu cleared his throat and raised his hand. "For the sake of potentially crucial future observations," he began, attempting to cement the importance of his question and safeguard against dismissal; "Would you care to clarify that?"

Koizumi threw back a genuinely blank look, rolled her eyes back to think for a second, and nodded to herself as she came to a decision on the request. "Usually places like this have something like a dimensional cloak," the woman explained, waving a hand in the air as if to demonstrate the ethereal nature of the technology. "Noise don't show up. If they stormed this place like it looks like they did, then one of two things would have to have happened: either someone let the cloak down on purpose, or the cloak was disrupted somehow, probably by an experiment."

"Like the portals?" Getotsu offered, pointing in the air to pin down the idea somehow.

"Well, gee, let's hope not."

Getotsu slowly lowered his hand and raised his eyebrows. "...Why?"

"Think about it," the King went on. "If they went through the portal and the power went down, where does that leave them?"

"Oh..."

The auburnette king hefted a sigh and idly ran her free hand along the stairwell wall as they descended deeper still. "Anyway, I think that's enough for you to go off of. Find any prototypes or notes on any of those things and it's worth a radio in to Collin. Got it? With any luck, it has next to nothing to do with the missing members."

"'Next to nothing'?" Master Tanaka queried, placing a prodding emphasis on the first two words.

Koizumi shrugged. "I'm trying to be optimistic, not deluding. Let's just... keep our eyes open, alright, darlings?"

"Got it, Yutsama!" Kya responded brightly, sending her cheery echo all the way down the remaining flights.

Koizumi gave a sour grimace, but allowed it to slide. "...Good."

For a while after that, it was only the clang and thump of boot-on-step that filled the silence as they passed large, red numbers denoting floor ordinance and walked deeper into the heart of the land. Dust had yet to settle in, and the facilities were only just beginning to show the signs of neglect. Still, the journey sent a creeping feeling up Getotsu's spine, as if they were trespassing on haunted grounds. The light from his CARD, though adequate for giving him an immediate view of the area, still cast long, roving shadows that whispered of people lost in these serene depths.

Apparently of a similar sentiment, Kyasako came alongside him and hugged his arm, tentatively synchronizing her steps to his so they could keep close.

Finally, they came to the sixth floor, where the stairs ended and an open door waited to meet them.

"Well...!" Koizumi said, stopping to look at the neatly unlocked and unguarded passageway. "Now isn't that something?"

If the circumstance had alarmed her, she was hiding it well. Behind the King, the rest of her party observed the happenstance with grim contemplation.

"The rest of the stairs are on the other side of the floor," the King said, jerking her head towards the darkened innards of the cavern.

Squeezing a little tighter on Getotsu's arm, Kyasako shivered. "...Ummm."

"What? Bring out your CARD to light the way to if it bothers you," Koizumi commanded without sympathy. "We've got to get this place searched."

"...Is it too late to, like, switch with another group?"

With a droning hum, the facility itself seemed to answer as overhead lights powered on, flickered, and stabilized.

"That's the back-up generators then," Koizumi murmured, turning back to the now fully lit sixth basement. "Still spooked, Kya dear?"

"I-I wasn't spooked!" Kya claimed, letting go of Getotsu and standing firm. "I was just—!"

The slow hum of something that wasn't the lights caused the group to again fall to silence.

Shifting into a terse, combat mode, the King motioned for the group to consolidate on her position and move out of the stair well. Master Tanaka followed immediately, of course. Slightly behind his master, Getotsu ushered Kyasako towards the others and craned his neck, trying to discern the origin of the noise.

"Quick," Koizumi hissed, running at a low sprint along the backs of lab stations and cubicle walls, heading straight for the far side. "Find a sample."

"A sample?" Getotsu tried unsuccessfully to keep his voice from cracking above a whisper. "A sample of what? What do we need a sample for?"

"Organic material," The King explained. "We're gonna need everything we've got if a fight comes up, and you can't manipulate Noise because they're inorganic."

Getotsu blinked. "They're not... alive?"

"No! They're inorganic," Koizumi's tone took on a sharp, hurried edge as she tried to explain. "They're not carbon based. You need something like—Ah! Perfect." Snatching a glittering object up from a table, the King tossed the prize to Getotsu with a small nod. "Say hello to your new best friend."

Catching the small, rather hard object with a wince, Getotsu opened his hand to see exactly what it was that he was supposed to be excited about.

Twinkling back in his palm, was a diamond. He could feel it, weighing and lightening with his breath as he subconsciously connected with and manipulated it.

"Now get it in gear, Shaggy," Koizumi ordered, jerking a thumb towards the floor entrance, where the hum was becoming louder. "We've got some Noise to hush."

Nodding back, Getotsu vaulted over the edge of the desk and braced himself for whatever was stalking them.

Roving above a pack of twitching blue tails raising out of the labyrinth of desks and equipment, a cloud of verdant dots mulled over itself, as if its members were in constant disagreement of which way to go.

"I've got it!" Kya shouted, coming up beside Getotsu as she dug into her pack. Quickly producing a pack of colored candies with a triumphant grin, she ripped open the plastic sack. "Okay, time for a sugar buzz! Taste teh Rainbow!"

Flying out of the packet at the bizarre command, the color coated pieces pelted the swarm in a rapid-fire stream. Emerging from the far side with what seemed to be residual smoke, the pellets left the cloud less populated, but more agitated.

And more aware of its target's location.

"C'mon, Mister Ghetto," The ganguro girl urged while digging through her pack. "Show 'em what you got!"

Getotsu tightened his grip on the diamond and tried to think of how this single shot could possibly be effective against their current aggressors.

"Infuse it," Master Tanaka ordered, taking the carbon crystal from his apprentice's grip. "On my mark, focus on the diamond. Ready?" The older man wound up and pitched the glittering missile into the midst of the green bees. "Now!"

Getotsu closed his eyes and focused. He held the diamond in his mind. Felt its smooth surfaces, saw its clear faces reflecting the light, measured it's weight, embraced its weight, controlled its weight—

The silver-haired man snapped his eyes open in time to see the diamond drop dead in mid flight, eating a number of the swarming insects and falling upon one of the blue tailed prowlers. Whatever creature the tail belonged to gave a dismal yip before it went limp and disappeared.

The other tails quickly lowered. A moment later, snarling wolves leapt up onto the desks, drawn into open hostilities by Getotsu's inadvertent shot. Their forepaws were worn down to a skeletal mesh of blue, and tribal markings streaked across each feral hound's arched spine.

"Blackhole!"

The light in the room warped as a rift tore its way into existence between the creatures and the Deck Operatives. Behind the forward line, Yutsui grunted as she held the anomaly in place. "What-what are you waiting for?! GO!"

Kya sputtered and grabbed Getotsu's arm. "Right!"

The two scrambled back over their barricade desk and, thanks to Kyasako's expert kiting, made it almost to the stairwell when yet another thing went wrong.

Above them, seemingly glued to the ceiling, a lazily curled vulpine stared down with curious eyes as its fragmented tail brushed idly back and forth. Its fragmented Noise tail.

Getotsu had just enough time to pull Kya in and shield her with his body before the blow hit him.

Flat. Or, almost. He tried to buffer himself with his elbows so he didn't crush Kya. There was a crunch as they hit the floor. The moment of impact hit just as hard as Nel ever did during practice, cutting into Getotsu's, thick, tempered bones and bruising his muscles. Kya's small, fragile form pressed against his stomach and he desperately tried to push away.

Then, they were falling. Getotsu's mind couldn't grasp why, but it could pretty well imagine what might await them at the end of the fall. Gripping Kya again and flipping around, Getotsu put himself between the final blow and her. He was heavier, he could take it better. Even if it weren't a simple matter of honor, it made more sense that he take the impact.

And then, as he squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of having his back broken, Getotsu remembered what his O-Ability was.

He almost let out a laugh. Despair turned to ecstasy as he focused on his bones, his skin, his very sinew, and willed it to catch the air, to lift, and soar in the updraft. He mentally reached out into Kya and did the same for her, striving against the natural bonds of force and pressing upward.

He could feel it now. His mind had gone sharp in the way that only a scrape with death could induce. The organic matter of himself, of the ganguro girl clutched to his chest, the strong mass of Master Tanaka, the lithe, graceful form of Koizumi.

And the poised vigilance of the fox still staring down at them as they crashed through multiple floors.

The fox that was a Noise.

Getotsu's stream of thought suddenly ran dry, baffled at the nagging inconsistency. It groped out to feel the other Noise, trying to prove that maybe Koizumi had just been plain wrong about their nature, that maybe they were organic all along, that he really could feel them.

No, he couldn't feel them. He could hear them, still howling and snarling, but they were absent in his newly developed sixth sense.

And the Noise above him wasn't.

"...Why—?"

Like a shot from a gun left on the table, unattended and unthought of until the moment one realizes it is gone, the slab of floor touched down and sent a shockwave through Getotsu's body.

Just before his world went black, he saw the fox uncoil, and slink away to whatever incomprehensible, rule breaking depths had spawned it.

In his dreams, it came back wearing a human face.

***Author's Note***

Attention! I have some sad news for you all. Because I will be working and studying very hard in the coming weeks, I am afraid I will have to discontinue Deck: J0KER until my schedule is more open. I would like to apologize to the Shibuya Operation – Story Storm community for these complications as well as the readers this story has gained along the way. I know that we're just getting to the good part, but in order to carry eighteen units and thirty four hours of work a week, I don't think I can keep up this size chapter for each week and, as I'm sure you've noticed by now, this is a story that requires these sized chapters.

However, that does not mean that this story is over. In fact, come next cycle of the Story Storm, I hope to finish it. Thank you so much for your support over these first four weeks. I promise that over the course of the year I will work long and hard on the rest of the story (the basic plan is down, it's all in the details now), even if I can't work it directly.

Again, you have my sincerest apologies, but in the interests of not presenting you with half-baked material, I must put this tale to rest for now.

But remember, Hope Still Flies.

***Acknowledgements***
Because we've got to have a thank you corner if this is going to be anything like Dina! Thank yous are in order for Hyoxjnn and Aviantei for giving honest, detailed, and uplifting reviews that show they thought about the story. Hyoxjnn again for letting me use Leo and Nel, and Aviantei again for favoriting. EeveeGen9988 for favoriting and following, as well as lending the use of her characters to this story. Bugzii for creating Yuu Minamimoto and Crow's Gamble for creating people who have something to do with his grandson. Additionally, everyone who stops by and cheers this story on for when it begins again. "You are the key that will open the door".

***Secret Report: Daisuke Bito***

Daisuke is actually a character I've been wanting to write for a while now. He's Beat's grandfather and is set for an appearance in From the Underground Up. In his originally planned draft, he's a former yakuza who's trying to get out of the business and make and honest living that his son can be proud of. While he may not actually be the brightest bulb in the box, he talks a great game of smack and expresses his hot temper rather creatively. Despite his many failures though, Daisuke's love for his son and efforts for his success are still clearly communicated and eventually show in the naming of Daisuke's first grandson: Daisukenojo.

In the Deckverse, Daisuke is a former Deck operative who, ironically, doesn't know about his grandson who is in the same organization. After the death of his son, Daisuke went derelict for a while before eventually turning up here. But is he the outside operative sent to monitor the Zetta Squad? Or was he simply in the wrong place at the wrong time again? Find out next time, in Deck: J0KER, Game V: Old Maid.

}The Inside Joke{

\\Power signals are coming in at a slight positive. Any updates yet?(}+REvanentCG+{)

-Yeah, backup generators are back online! Tho... for how long, idk. (ari3)

-I think he realized that part, tyke. (iZOlation)

-Wow... I knew Izo was a jerk. (2little2late)

-But an intellectually superior jerk, if still a jerk all the same. (RueTheDay)

-Jumping off the bandwagon of declaring Izo's jerkiness, I'd like to report that we found a survivor and are continuing towards the living quarters to investigate further. (N31!31)

-Great! What's the survivor's member tag? (}+RevanentCG+{)

-He doesn't know what a member tag is. Try "Die". (Ayumu)

-...That's not a good joke.(ari3)

-It wasn't a joke. More likely, a nickname. (RueTheDay)

-Who the heck chooses that as a nickname? (2little2late)

-Why don't you ask him yourself? (-Sentence-)

-BECAUSE! … You know! He... umm... he said it's a secret! (2little2late)

-It's okay, I didn't understand it either. (XMaybexImxAxLionX)

-...Let me know if anything comes up. (}+REvanentCG+{)

-Got it. Over and out. (N31!31)

\\I've decided: our cat should be called San-Nyaa Nekohama. (ari3)

-Approved. Let's take pictures and send them to the CAT department. He can be their new mascot! (YuuMeAndAMocha)

-That... doesn't sound wise, sir.(}+REvanentCG+{)

-Respect the humor, Collin. Mocha-san has spoken. (-Sentence-)

-...I have the horrible feeling justice has just been served...(}+REvanentCG+{)

-Awww~yeah! Wgaca!(ari3)

\\Hey, has anyone heard from Master Tanaka's group yet?(N31!31)

-Don't worry about them, Yutsui's probably just got them all on their toes. I'm sure they'll report when they have something to report. (}+REvanentCG+{)

-Collin's probably right, Yutsui runs a pretty tight ship!(ari3)

-Alright... I'm putting an alert on them though, just case. (XMaybexImxAxLionX)

-...Thanks?(N31!31)

-Slow down there, Lion Boy. Give her time. (2little2late)

-...What?(XMaybexImxAxLionX)

Wildcard Shuffle – Current Song – The Summoned(From Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII)

Next Song – That's How the Story Ends(Five Iron Frenzy)