Chapter 6

The wind whipped around Bud as he skied down the hill, trying his best to keep his path steady. He leaned back and tried to turn, but quickly lost his balance, falling backwards and sliding for what felt like forever before he finally came to a stop.

Spitting out snow, he groaned, "Ouch…"

"This is tougher than it looks," Taurus said.

"What are you complaining about? I'm the one doing it!"

Amy skied up next to him. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," Bud said as she helped him stand. "I never figured skiing would be easy, but I had no idea it'd be this difficult to learn."

"You're actually doing pretty well for your first time! Come on, let's head back up and give it another go."

As they headed for the nearby lift, Bud said, "You probably spend a lot of time on these slopes, huh?"

"Just about every chance I get," Amy said. "I love it out here."

They boarded the lift. Amy slumped back into her seat and sighed, prompting Bud to ask, "You okay? You seem kind of tired."

"Maybe I am a little worn out from organizing the storeroom earlier. Dad said he had it covered, but I just wanted to make sure it got done, you know?"

"Do you do a lot of work like that?"

"Of course! This is my family's business—it's my responsibility to do all I can to help out."

"With all that on top of spending so much time skiing, you must be worn out a lot. I know I would be!"

Amy watched the snow move underneath them. "…I guess. But, I don't mind. I want to make sure I do my share, especially now that I'm spending time away from here to participate in competitions."

After a brief pause, Bud said, "Um, it isn't really any of my business, but…well, I hear that pushing yourself too much can turn into a problem…"

Amy smiled at him. "Thanks for your concern, but really, it's okay."

Bud scratched his head. "Well…you were saying that you didn't really have to do that organizing thing—that your dad had it covered?"

Amy frowned. "…Yeah…"

"I was just thinking, if you've been feeling tired, then it's weird that you're sort of taking more work than you need to."

"This place is my responsibility."

"Yeah, I know, but—"

"I just…I don't want to spend all my time skiing and stop helping out. I don't want my hobby to take away from helping my family. That would…that would seem really selfish, wouldn't it?"

Bud stopped to absorb what she had said, and then offered, "It seems like everyone around here is really proud of how good you are at skiing. Has your dad said anything about it?"

Amy leaned to one side. "He was the first one who encouraged me to ski competitively. He saw how much I enjoyed it and told me I should pursue it. Really, he's only ever been supportive."

"And I bet he's been sure to give you plenty of time you can use to practice, right?"

"Yeah, he does."

"It doesn't sound like he thinks it's selfish. I think you might be worrying too much. The resort would probably be fine if you let other people do a little more work, and with some extra time to rest, you might get even better at skiing, too."

Amy tapped her fingers against the edge of the seat. "…Dad has said he's worried I'm going to exhaust myself. Maybe I could do a little less."

"Yeah! You don't have to totally give it up, just maybe think about changing how you're doing it. It can't hurt to give it a try, right?"

Amy smiled again. "…Thanks, Bud. I think I might."

Luna fumbled with her mittens, muttering, "I can't believe the store sold out of gloves! They should really keep better track of things so their customers don't have to settle for mittens!"

Sonia reached over to help her, pointing out, "You could've brought your own gloves."

"I had to keep tabs on everyone else! I was so busy making sure they were ready that this just slipped my mind."

Sonia rolled her eyes. "Of course. You're the pinnacle of selflessness, Luna."

Luna scowled. "What's that?"

With a giggle, Sonia answered, "Oh, nothing."

Luna leaned closer as they walked, her glare only intensifying. On her next step, Sonia moved just enough to bump into her, and then immediately quickened her pace.

"What? Hey, get back here!"

She caught up at the entrance to the food court plaza. Sonia looked around, saying, "Let's see, wasn't the ski lift supposed to be around here?"

She paused to glance at Luna, trying not to laugh. After a few seconds, Luna sighed and smiled.

"…I'm glad things are back to normal."

"Me too. Now let's go!"

At the back of the area was a small stall resting right at the foot of one of the towering mountains behind the hotel, with a glowing blue cable extending from it all the way to the top of the slope. Sonia and Luna approached it excitedly…but their enthusiasm faded when they saw who was waiting inside.

Golds did his best to pretend he didn't see them. Luna rang the bell at the desk, calling, "Excuse me! We'd like two sets of skis."

With a loud sigh, he grumbled, "Yeah, coming right up."

Luna opened her mouth to say something; Sonia took her hand and smiled at her, convincing her to stay quiet. Golds had an unsettling smile when he came back to the counter, but the girls paid it no mind as they downloaded the Matter Wave skis and climbed onto the lift.

"What a creep," Luna finally said.

"Definitely," Sonia said. "Hopefully someone else is working when we return these."

When she activated the program, the skis instantly materialized on her feet. They felt extremely light, almost as if they weren't even there, and they had the same pulsing glow as the cable above them. Luna materialized hers as well, and when they reached a plateau they slid out of the seat and onto the snow. Sonia slipped a bit before finding her balance while Luna pushed a short distance ahead.

"Have you done this before?" Sonia asked.

Luna nodded. "Yes, a few years ago. Haven't you?"

Sonia flailed, saying, "Woah! No, I never had a chance."

She inched forward. Eventually they found the others, Geo calling, "Hey! Running a little late?"

"Sorry," Sonia said, "there was a problem at the shop—"

"They're out of gloves," Luna broke in.

"—and it took us a minute to get our skis, too."

Amy came forward. "Oh, Golds is on duty, isn't he? He's been trouble ever since we hired him. We keep telling him he needs to behave, but if this keeps up…well, sorry, I should've warned you about him."

"That's alright, I already know how he can be."

"You know him?"

"Yeah, he used to be my manager. He's always been difficult."

"Manager?" Amy repeated, looking closely at Sonia. "…Ah! You're Sonia Strumm, aren't you? I knew you looked familiar, I just couldn't place it. Have you been enjoying your stay?"

"I have, thank you! Aside from Mr. Golds, everyone's been very helpful."

"Glad to hear! So, did you come up here looking for inspiration for a new album maybe?"

"Haha, something like that. I can't reveal anything, though."

"No, I guess not. Still, it's such an honor to meet you!"

"It's great to meet you too! I've heard about some of your races—you're pretty remarkable! The nationals are coming up, aren't they? How's your training for those going?"

"They are, yeah. I'm more or less prepared, though I'd still like to get a little more work in when I get the chance."

Hearing this, Bud suggested, "In that case, why don't you go get some training in now?"

"Huh? Oh…well, I guess I could, but I wouldn't want to just leave."

"Maybe I could come with you? I mean, I probably wouldn't be able to handle the slopes you're training on, but it'd still be fun to watch!"

Amy thought for a moment, looking at the highest peak in the resort. "…Sure. Yeah, if you're up for that. And of course anyone else is welcome too!"

"I think I'll stay down here," Sonia said. "I get the feeling it's going to take me a while to get the hang of this, and I don't even want to go near the tough courses yet."

"Fair enough," Amy chuckled. "I'll catch you later then! Good luck!"

Amy and Bud headed off. Mega commented, "Seems like Bud is smoother than he seems!"

"Hush, Mega," Lyra said.

Sonia slipped, but was able to get steady. "Alright, let's see how bad this is."

"You'll do fine," Luna said, "stop complaining. You were the one who asked me to ski!"

"Oh, I guess I did."

"Unbelievable. Well, chop chop! Give it a try!"

With a deep breath, Sonia started down the hill, Luna following not far behind her. Geo and Pat soon pursued as well, leaving Zack on his own. The boy sighed and pushed forward.

Sonia pulled herself up out of the snow with a moan. Farther down, Luna waved one of her ski poles in the air, shouting something that couldn't be heard over the wind.

"Perhaps you should take a rest, dear," Lyra said. "Falling this often can't be good for your health."

"Yeah," Sonia grumbled, "but I'd like to give it another try."

"You've been saying that in response to your last seven attempts."

Sonia hung her head. "…Maybe you're right."

She slowly made her way down to Luna, being very careful so that they wouldn't collide. The other girl examined her and said, "You're not hurt, are you? That looked like a bad fall."

"I've endured a lot worse," Sonia said. "Sorry. I thought this would be fun, but it turns out I'm really, really bad at skiing."

"You're a beginner," Luna said, turning to look off the side of the mountain. "And either way…it's still fun to spend time with you…"

She looked back to see Sonia grinning.

"A-Anyway, where are the others? We should get some lunch before you go back to falling down every few minutes."

"Ignoring that," Sonia said. She turned to survey the area. "I think I saw them as I was coming down. It's hard to tell, though, the snow has been getting really thick. Why do you think they're generating so much?"

"I've been wondering about that," Lyra said. "I've overheard other skiers saying this is unusual, and it only seems to be getting worse. Perhaps it would be prudent to take a look at the weather control system? It's possible there's a malfunction."

"Hm, I guess we should," Sonia said. "It'll just take a minute."

A thundercrack suddenly echoed overhead. The snow began to fall even faster, quickly reducing visibility to the point where Sonia could barely see Luna.

"My…this might be more than a simple malfunction," Lyra muttered.

"Attention all skiers!" came an announcement over the nearby PA speakers. "Due to an unforeseen complication, the weather control system seems to be causing a massive blizzard. Please remain calm and stay off the slopes. We are doing our best to get the problem under control."

"Luna?" Sonia called, reaching out.

"Over here!" Luna replied. She managed to grab Sonia's hand.

"I'm going to go see what's up with the weather. You should get back to the resort!"

As they went to move away from each other, both of their skis suddenly flickered and deactivated. Stumbling briefly, Luna dug out her Wave Carrier and tapped the screen—it flashed an error message, giving a small piece of text claiming something was wrong with the Matter Wave.

"Darn it!" she said.

"Hello?" came Geo's voice. "Sonia, Luna, are you there?"

"Yes, we're here!"

He soon became visible, followed closely by Pat and Zack. Noticing all three still had their skis, Sonia said, "Is it just our skis that went out? But why would that be?"

Luna scowled. "That stupid Golds must have given us duds! Can't he get anything right?"

"We can help you get down," Pat said, "but we should really get going! If it keeps going at this rate we'll be in serious trouble!"

"Go on ahead, I'm going to check the weather system," Sonia said.

"Should I come with you?" Geo asked.

She shook her head. "Bud is up that way—if I need back-up, I'll count on him. Thanks for offering, but please get Luna to safety! Mr. Copper should still be in the area, so you should probably try to meet up with him."

"Hey, Ophiuca," Mega said. "Didn't you say you visited the weather control system yesterday? You…see anything strange?"

Ophiuca chuckled. "You should ask what you really mean, Omega-Xis. Either way the answer is no."

"Sure it is."

Luna turned back to Sonia. "Be careful."

With a smile, Sonia said, "I will. You be careful too!"

"Of course I will!"

As she and the others left, Sonia put on her Visualizer and trudged over to the first Wavehole she spotted. Once Wave Changed, she looked around, saying, "I wonder what could be causing this?"

"A system going this wrong this quickly is highly unusual," Lyra said. "I think it's safe to suspect foul play."

"You think Hyde is involved?"

"Well, he's the first thing I associate with a foul play."

Sonia chuckled. Her fingers wrapped tightly around the guitar's neck.

"Are you ready for a rematch?"

"I'm definitely ready. Maybe…too ready."

She started to climb, continuing, "I've been getting this feeling lately, like I'm itching for a fight. It's really weirding me out."

"I've been feeling the same. I assumed it was a result of the OOParts."

"…These things really are dangerous, aren't they?"

"Don't worry, dear. You know that there's nothing you and I can't handle."

"Yeah…especially with everyone else's support. We can handle it!"

She spotted a light in the distance and raised her guitar in precaution. "Hello?"

"Sonia?"

Recognizing the voice, she moved closer. Soon she was able to make out a large, horned figure, and saw that the light was the result of jets of flame coming from their elbows.

"Bud, there you are!"

He spun frantically. "Sonia, watch out!"

Sonia stopped abruptly. Sensing something above her, she rolled out of the way; moments later something enormous crashed down on the spot where she had been standing, kicking up a thick cloud of snow.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know for sure," Bud answered, "but it's definitely an EM wave body!"

Hearing this, Sonia prepared for the worst. The cloud slowly dissipated, revealing an eight foot tall being standing there. Its lower torso and upper arms were covered in shaggy black fur, while its chest was encased in bulbous white armor with a silver breastplate, and more white armor covered its gigantic hands and even larger feet. An unkempt mess of purple hair spread out from its head and onto its shoulders, and its silver face bore a large nose and two sharp fangs coming up from its oversized jaw. She swore she could almost recognize the glare it gave her.

"Another one, eh?" the creature said.

Do I know that voice?

"Well, fine by me. I'll take care of you both right now!"

Pushing off the nagging feeling, Sonia said, "Please, we don't have to fight! Who are you—what is it that you want?"

A disembodied voice replied, "I'm Yeti, the elite soldier! This is—"

"Shut up!" the creature snapped. "There's no reason to tell them who we are you dolt!"

"O-Oh, right. Sorry about that."

A wave of disgust gradually washed over Sonia. …No…oh my gosh, is it really him? Did he really get involved in this?!

Hoping she was wrong, she said, "Alright, if you don't want to tell me who you are, that's okay. Can you at least tell me what you're trying to accomplish?"

He smirked. "Accomplish? I'm going to run all the guests out of this hotel, obviously! And once I do that, I'm going to have one heck of a payday, hahaha!"

She had no doubt now. You really never did care about anything other than money, did you?

"Especially with you two here!" Golds said. "Hyde said there might be some interlopers, and that I'd get a nice bonus for each one I beat! Say, aren't there supposed to be two more? Why don't you tell me where they are—I've got my eye on a nice new watch!"

It wasn't an accident that our skis went out. He wanted me and Luna to be stranded when he made the weather go out of control!

A faint orange aura started to appear around her as her fury grew. She thought she heard a voice, but figured it was just the wind.

"I know, dear," Lyra said, "but we need to stay calm."

With great effort, she turned to Bud and calmly asked, "Where's Amy?"

"She's up next to the weather machine," Bud said. "She got knocked unconscious when he attacked—we gotta get her down soon!"

Sonia nodded. Turning back, she said, "You're putting people in danger. Please stop this before anyone gets hurt."

Golds snickered. "Enough talk!"

A large snowball appeared in his hand, and he hurled it at Sonia. She swung her guitar, breaking the incoming projectile apart, and saw that Golds had closed the gap already. It was difficult to dodge his punch with so little notice, but somehow she managed. Golds leapt high into the air before she could counter, becoming lost in the snow until he came shooting back down in an attempt to crush his foe.

"Fine," Sonia said as she jumped clear. "I know it'll take a lot to make you listen."

She activated her Ninja transformation and plucked the shamisen. The already powerful winds focused themselves on Golds as he moved to attack again; he dug in to fight them, but a storm of shuriken came with the gust, stunning him.

"Are you really willing to injure—or even kill—innocent people just for money?" Sonia asked.

Golds snorted. Taking another leap, he aimed for Bud this time, catching the boy by surprise. Sonia used one shuriken from her belt to knock Golds back before he could follow-up, and then she summoned another blade-filled wind as she made her way over.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Bud said. "Who is this guy?"

"It's my former manager."

"What?! You sure?"

"Bud, you should get Amy some help. I'll hold him off."

"Okay, if you say so."

Bud charged up the hill. Seeing this, Golds began to beat his chest, and suddenly the snow lurched and slid, forming a small avalanche that washed Bud back to his starting position.

"Mrrgh! You've got a lot of nerve!" Taurus said.

"Who cares what you think?" Yeti replied. "You're just an FM-ian!"

Sonia played a few notes and swung her shamisen, sending out a cutting air wave. As Golds blocked, Lyra said, "Oh, so you also have a problem with FM-ians? And just why is that?"

"Phantom said you were bad," Yeti replied. "He said you were just chaotic imbeciles who don't know how to recognize a bright idea when it's right in front of them."

"Well!" Lyra said.

"Wait, so you hate FM-ians because Phantom hates FM-ians?" Taurus asked. "Have you met any FM-ians before this?"

"No, of course not," Yeti said. "But…if Phantom says it, it must be true."

Bud got to his feet, breathing a puff of flame. "Get out of my way! I need to help Amy—I can come back and fight you later!"

Golds gave a hideous grin. "You're in no position to be making demands."

Another rain of shuriken came down on him. Breathing deeply, Sonia said, "Why is money so important to you? What could cause someone to consider money more important than a life?!"

Reaching to the ground, Golds said, "You're just some stupid kid, aren't you? You probably don't know what it's like to live without money. Well, I do know what it's like. And once I escaped that life, I swore I'd never go back!"

He ripped out another snowball and threw it at Sonia, pushing her back a few feet. He then bounded down the hill, sent Bud flying with a kick, and brought both fists down on Sonia. She managed to play a quick chord, summoning a whirlwind around herself that shielded her from the damage.

"…What will it take?"

At the next note she played, the whirlwind dashed out and bowled over Golds. Lowering her shamisen, she shouted, "What will it take to get through to you?! I can't believe that someone could be this far gone! Isn't there some way I can make you see that what you're doing is wrong?"

"Wrong?" Yeti repeated. "No, Phantom said you were the—"

"Shut up, you!" Golds said as he sat up. "And as for you, you think I don't know what I'm doing? I know that no 'decent' person would take a job like this—but do you think I care? Kindness doesn't get you squat in this world. Money is what you need to get somewhere, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get it!"

Sonia gritted her teeth. The aura continued to build. "Even if innocent people get killed?"

"I hope somebody dies! Especially that ungrateful brat and her friends. She deserves it after hanging me out to dry the way she did!"

The aura flared with new life. Sonia gritted her teeth, glaring at Golds with a terrible intensity.

Power…

She shook her head.

Power…the power to beat Golds…power to make him see how wrong he is…

She stepped forward. Lyra gave a pained grunt.

"Sonia."

She took another step, and another.

"Sonia, stop for a moment!"

She blinked. "Huh? Lyra?"

"S-Sorry, dear. This energy is starting to become a bit much once again."

"Oh…"

Sonia looked down at her shamisen. She hadn't realized how tightly she was holding it.

…This isn't right.

She stopped to breathe.

I'm not here to get revenge, or to punish anyone. I'm here to help people.

She saw Bud behind Golds, quietly making for the weather control system again. Golds stood tall and smirked down at her.

"Aw, are you finished already?"

Sonia looked up at him. You're terrible. You're even more terrible than I ever knew, and I don't feel one shred of guilt for being angry with you. But I'm not going to fight you out of anger.

Her aura turned yellow then, and obscured her with bright light. Sonia felt even more power rushing into her, so much that she was afraid she might lose control of it.

Power…no. No, I'm in control.

When the aura faded she felt somewhat dizzy, but it only lasted a second. She looked herself over and was surprised to find that not much had changed. Her armor was still in the shape of the Ninja form, though the parts that were once green were now silver and her scarf had become yellow. Her instrument was the exception, having transformed into something with a massive oval body and a very short, fat neck with a head that angled back sharply.

"It looks like…a lute?" she mumbled.

Golds cocked his head. "Huh? Hyde only said you had one transformation! That lying scum. Whatever, I'm still going to pulverize you no matter what color you choose."

"Hey, um, hang on a second," Yeti said. "Are we…really putting innocent people in danger?"

"I told you that's not for you to worry about! Besides, what did you think we were doing when we attacked those two earlier?"

He looked back towards the control system then, spotting Bud.

"Hey!"

Golds threw a snowball, knocking Bud to the ground. Sonia played a quick series of notes, hoping that this new form still worked like the regular Ninja did. To her dismay, only a handful of shuriken materialized, and most of them didn't even hit their mark.

Not again!

Golds spun and hit her with a backhanded strike, flinging her into a nearby tree. He then jumped over to Bud and grabbed him by the horns.

"D-Don't hurt me," Bud said. "I just want to help my friend. Please, I need to get her out of here soon!"

Golds laughed. Yeti gave a nervous groan, saying, "I don't know about this, Golds. You sure this is right?"

"Pipe down," his host said.

"Don't you get it?" Taurus said. "This guy's just using you! Why don't you do something about it?"

"I have to follow Phantom's orders! He said I was supposed to work with this guy, that I was doing him a big favor that would help to restore Mu. He told me himself!"

"And you just blindly trust him?!"

Yeti didn't have a response.

"…Mrrrgh. Yeti, have you ever formed a single opinion of your own? Or do you just let your higher-ups think for you?"

"I guess I…well, I'm a soldier, so I'm supposed to follow orders."

"I understand. I've been in that exact same position. But then I came here to Earth, and I found out that my superiors were wrong."

"No way!" Yeti yelled. "How…how is that possible? You can't get to be in charge without understanding things!"

"Every living thing has limits, Yeti, and anyone can make a mistake. Even the FM King, and even Phantom."

"…I…really?"

Golds sighed. "Will you two shut up already?! Honestly, what does any of this even matter? You're here to make me money, so just do as you're told!"

Seeing that he was distracted, Bud delivered an uppercut with enough force to flip Golds and send him sliding a few yards away. The man got to his feet and saw that Sonia was trying to rejoin the fight.

"Forget the Ninja style, it isn't going to get the job done like this," Lyra said.

"Right, let me see if I can get the hang of this new instrument."

She strummed each string in succession and electricity burst from the body of the instrument, shaping itself into a long, jagged blade—Sonia was so surprised that she dropped it and stumbled backwards.

"Yikes! It's a sword?"

Lyra sighed, saying, "Wasn't that one of the OOParts? So this is the Berserk form?"

"But…it also looks like Ninja…"

Golds summoned another avalanche, this one knocking down both his foes. When Sonia got up, she looked around for her instrument, and shortly realized it had been buried in the snow.

"Oh no! Where is it?"

Starting forward, Golds created another snowball. He didn't see Bud stand up and exhale a swath of flames. The attack left him slightly singed, but he was still able to shrug it off; he spun and hurled his attack at Bud. Bud endured the hit and kept breathing fire.

"Stupid, stupid kids!"

Golds jumped towards him, ultimately driving him into the snow underfoot with a powerful kick. The flames ceased.

"Just give up," Golds said, stomping on Bud's spine. "I never let anything get between me and my pay!"

Bud moaned weakly. Taurus said, "Yeti, think! Take a look at what you're doing and tell me what you think of it!"

Yeti hummed as if he were trying to make a difficult decision. "It doesn't look…but, Phantom…he wouldn't…though if he…argh!"

Golds ignored him as he leaned down. "What did you really think you would do with that fire? You didn't think it would hurt me, did you?"

"No," Bud grunted. "But it did…melt…the snow…"

Golds blinked. Looking up, he saw Sonia standing there, her instrument-turned-blade in her hands.

"Leave him alone!"

She swung with all her might, landing a solid blow to Golds' chest. The electricity shot through his entire body as he was knocked to the ground—he bounced once, and then rolled downhill.

"Bud!" Sonia said as she helped him up. "That was great thinking!"

Bud swayed a bit but stayed on his feet. "Thanks, but I don't think we're done yet. I'm not going to be able to get Amy out of here with him up and fighting. We're going to have to focus on beating him."

"Yeah. Let's not waste any more time!"

Golds sprang to his feet. "Darn it! You're going to pay for this!"

"Hold on!" Yeti said. "I…I'm not so sure about this anymore!"

Not heeding his partner's words, Golds ran forward. Sonia slid towards him, holding her brightly-glowing sword high to get his attention. Before she could swing, Golds lashed out with a punch to the gut. She crumpled and lost her grip on the weapon.

"There," he said, "now—"

Something collided with him. The visibility was so low that he hadn't even seen Bud charging at him, and now he could do nothing as he was rammed into a tree with such force that it and the three trees behind it all snapped in half. Golds tried to pick himself up out of the wooden shrapnel, but he was met with a quick jab from Bud's fist.

Sonia made her way over. When she looked at Golds, out of breath and unable to stand, she said, "I wish I could have helped you. Things didn't have to end up like this."

"Feh," Golds breathed. "First you beat me up…then you gloat about it…you're heartless…"

She turned her back on him.

"I'm sorry," Yeti said. "I think…maybe, you were right. Maybe I should've thought more about what I was getting into."

"Mrrrgh, glad to hear it!" Taurus said. "At least one of you was willing to listen."

Before anything more could be said, however, a shadowy, clawed hand emerged from behind the trees, slashing Golds and making him cry out in pain. Sonia whirled to see his Wave Change vanish in a burst of blue light that was quickly absorbed into an odd anklet he wore.

"Yeti?!" Taurus exclaimed.

Sonia stared with wide eyes. It didn't seem like possession, but…what happened to him?

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Oh, not now," Lyra said.

"You're growing more dangerous by the day, aren't you, heroine?" called the voice of Hyde. "To think you could combine the power of the OOParts…even if it is a flawed combination. Heh, heh, heh."

Sonia gripped her weapon, and she and Bud looked around for their enemy. "We don't have to fight, Hyde."

"Indeed. This scene has already reached its climax. I've come simply to retrieve a prop."

She thought she saw something in the distance and pointed her sword at it. It came closer, revealing itself to be one of the ghost viruses they had seen before—Bud destroyed it with one blast of fire. They turned back to Golds to see that the strange anklet was gone.

"Since this scheme was far from essential, I will give you due congratulations this time," Hyde called. "But beware that our next encounter may have higher stakes. Yes, much higher…heh, heh, heh."

That was all he said. Sonia sighed, looked at Golds for a moment, and then turned to Bud. "We can't just leave him. Can you help me get him over to the controls?"

They dragged him up to the peak of the hill, where Amy sat slumped against a stout, silver-walled building with a large antenna on its roof.

"I'll take care of this. You should call Mr. Copper and have him bring a medic up here."

Sonia quickly entered the machine's EM space and deleted the viruses within, enabling the system to return to normal and disperse the harsh weather. She came back out to see Bud staring intently at Amy.

"I'm sure she's fine," Sonia said. "The storm didn't last too long, really, and she's got to be used to the cold."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Bud said. He deactivated his Wave Change. "I should think about something else, like, uh…well, it was really cool to be able to fight alongside you!"

Sonia smiled. "We've worked together before."

"Yeah, but this was different. It really felt like I got to help save the day!"

With a chuckle, Sonia looked down at her new armor and reflected on what had happened.

…I'm still a little frustrated. But, I don't have to do everything by myself, and it's nice that I have friends who are looking out for me.

"Hey, Bud?"

"Hm?"

"I've been thinking: why don't we form a BrotherBand?"

"Huh? Really?! I'd love to! Hold on, let me get my Star Carrier!"

Sonia undid her Wave Change and turned to her guitar screen. Lyra looked a little worried—Sonia nodded to her, whispering, "We'll figure it out."

Lyra held out a few more seconds before giving a small smile. "You're right, of course."