"But ma, I'm trying my best..." Beat mumbled in his sleep, oblivious to where he was.

"[[Aww, isn't that so cute? He's dreaming about his family.]]" Starr said dotingly. She had just come back from the dojo. (But not without helping the Ouendan repair it, of course.)

J dropped the stack of papers he was holding on his foot. "[[Starr? How'd you get back here so quick?]]"

The blonde rolled her eyes, pulling out a small red box with a black button on it. "[[I teleported. What else could I have used?]]"

J scratched the side of his head, being careful not to ruin his carefully-sculpted hairdo. "[[I dunno, you could have driven back.]]"

"[[I didn't drive to get there, J. I used jetpack.]]"

Chieftain picked up J's papers. "[[Then you could have used those! What's so wrong about being practical once in a while? Besides, we can only use the teleporter for emergencies, remember?]]"

"[[Derek said that Fredrick's hair was on fire last week, does that count?]]"

While they were talking, Missy walked into the room, goofy grin and all. "[[Oh, you mean that kid from the Northern Division? I hear that he had to wear a wig, just so that we wouldn't mistake him for that Tsuyoshi dude, you know?]]"

Foxx continued to focus on her laptop. "[[Besides, I wouldn't dote on his family life if I were you... It seems that his grades were far below average, and that's not the strangest part...]]"

Starr gave Foxx a small pout. "[[Come on, tell us what's wrong! It can't possibly be the weirdest thing we've ever experienced. A normal mission for us means that we have to travel the world, for crying out loud!]]"

"[[Well... They're supposed to be dead.]]"

"[[That's it? I thought they would be something interesting, like time-travelling aliens with psychic powers.]]"

"[[Seriously? I think you've been watching your sister's anime stash again. And they're not even ghosts like the previous few we've seen, anyhow. They're in the Examination Room right now, in the flesh. I must either have the worst record site in the world, it's all a conspiracy, or they really did reincarnate...]]"

Only moments later, Beat woke up, arms stretching toward the sky. The very first things he saw were a few bright lights atop a plain white ceiling. Wondering where he was, he shoved off the linen bedsheets that covered him up, and went to search for Rhyme in the large white room.

"Sis? Are you still in here? Are you even here at all? If any of you sickos lay a hand on her, I'll-"

A lone figure leaned by the door, in a neat black tux, holding a glass of wine in his left hand. "Don't worry kid, we didn't do anything with your little sis. In fact, she's right outside, in the Research and Development room."

"Hey, aren't you that Elliot dude from yesterday?"

"What do you mean, yesterday? You've been asleep for two days already. Thankfully that knockout gas was only temporary, or else we might have left you alone in there while we went overseas, or we might have actually taken you overseas."

"But why? What's so important that you would want me an' sis overseas?"

"Well, it seems that you're a little bit more... special than we anticipated. We've only had a handful of people with this much potential in our Agency before, myself included."

"[[Oh please, J. Everyone knows that you're still not as experienced as you make yourself out to be. Why do I even bother with you in the first place?]]"

"Shut up, Starr. You know it's because of my charm."

"[[Don't switch languages on me just because you think I'm too slow to understand! The Central Division is fluent in Japanese, you know.]]"

"Can I just go see my sis now?" Beat asked.

J tapped the titanium door behind him. "Sure, kid. The Research and Development room is right outside this one, 3rd door to the left. You can't miss it."

After a few minutes of meandering around the narrow hallway, Beat finally found the R and D room, marked in English lettering. On the outside, it looked rather dull, with a small wooden door and a plain circular knob. At first, Beat thought that J gave him directions to the wrong room, and that this was some sort of closet or something. Hoping for the best, Beat opened the door, unsure of what to expect.

Inside the room, Beat saw an incredibly spacious room, filled to the brim with top-secret technologies. The staff inside wore lab coats over their normal outfits, remaining silent. The few words they did say to each other were in a language Beat couldn't understand, probably English. In the distance, Rhyme was standing next to a large metal sphere in what appeared to be a small glass chamber. "Hey, bro! What are you doing here today?"

"Wha-Rhyme! What are you doing in there!? That could be dangerous, you know!"

One of the staff members stood in front of Beat, obscuring his view. "[[You need not worry, Mr. Daisuke-]]"

"Don't say it, yo."

"[[Fine, Mr. Bito. I certain that your sister will not die. She is only voyeur to the items.]]"

"Wait, what? Your Japanese is even worse than mine."

The staff member cleared her throat and said, "I apologize. [[BA-2? Can you please clarify our rules and regulations to this young delinquent? Also, we do not permit smoking in this facility, and especially not in this room.]]"

It seems that J had entered the room to check on Beat while he wasn't looking. "Lighten up a little, Freya. The translators aren't perfect, you know. I thought that you'd love to go overseas with us! Maybe it's just because you want to go play with some more toys, huh?"

Freya gave J a mild scowl. "I go to university at the age of 14, get a master's degree in computer sciences, join a top-secret organization led by a former CIA member, and this is the thanks I get?"

"That's how life works, Frey."

Frustrated, Freya went back to her station, leaving J to continue explaining things. For a cheerleader, he did a pretty good job of annoying everyone around him.

She turned back to J, and grumbled, "[[Just to tell you, there is a difference between Freya and Frey.]]"

The redhead smiled at Beat. "Good ol' Freya. She always had her head in her work, never taking time to actually look at the things around her, making her perfect for the R and D room. I hear that Derek tried to give her flowers yesterday. Not that I don't think she's pretty, it's just that I prefer a girl like Starr, myself. Maybe it would be kinda cute to see those stiffs together though-"

Even Beat got a little irritated. "Could you just get my sis outta there!?"

"Sorry, kid. I always did have this knack for annoying the hell out of everyone around me when I talk. But you shouldn't worry too much about your little sis; the device over there is completely harmless."

"What does it do?"

Rhyme waved at her little brother. "Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. Missy-san said that it won't fall down and crush my foot!"

Now that she mentioned it, Beat notice that the metal sphere was floating. And now Rhyme was right on top of it.

"Bwagh! H-how did you get up there?" he hollered.

"Gravity fields," Missy stated from afar. "We were going to install them on our robotic penguins so our rookies wouldn't fall off. You wanna try?"

Even though he didn't know exactly what it meant, Beat charged into the glass room, bruising his arm in the process.

"Hey, what's the big deal? I thought you said that I could come in!"

"Umm... Did you try opening the door?"

"Oh, right. I forget these kinds of things sometimes. I'm coming for you, Rhyme!" He yelled while opening the door.

"[[Are you sure this'll be all right, Miss?]]" J asked.

"[[Of course I do. It's already been thoroughly tested, and all we needed were some human test subjects...]]"

"[[Well, that's pretty- wait, WHAT!? Are you kidding me? We can't have some random kids dying on us today!]]"

"[[But Foxx said they were already dead, right? So a little experimentation couldn't hurt...]]"

"[[Yeah, but they're ALIVE right now! Do they look like ghosts to you? They even got re-adjusted to living! Just because they died once, doesn't mean that you can kill them again!]]"

"[[I guess you're right. But if they really did die once, that just raises even more questions, you know?]]"

J simply shrugged at Missy. "[[Eh, I don't think you should worry about it too much, Miss. You remember our mantra, right?]]"

"[[Of course I do! 'Go with the flow, and let your feet do the rest!']]"

"[[Umm... Never mind, then.]]"

After a few minutes of toying with the Gravity Ball, the two Bito siblings were ready to leave Tokyo HQ. While wandering around the hallway, Rhyme asked J, "I've been wondering for quite some time now, but how are you able to speak Japanese so well?"

"You see," J explained, "You see, we had to learn because of some legal disputes with the Ouendan a few years ago. The two Lindhursts taught us everything we know about Japan, and our Commander gave us some communication tips, too."

"It wasn't very easy to do, you know," Starr said behind a corner. "One time, J spilled some rice porridge on Khan's computer, and the entire Central HQ shut down! Good thing someone knew how to restore the power." She then pointed to Foxx, who was in another room.

"What? We were having lessons on congee, weren't we?"

"Kanji, J. Anyways, I got to see the test results, and you did great! Here's a special gift for you guys." Starr handed Beat a large box, which about the same size as two skateboards. "It's our new prototype, 'Beat Transport Number 46: Mellisa!'"

Curious as to what a "Beat Transport" was (Could it carry Rhyme, too?) Beat quickly opened the package, revealing two incredibly stylized skateboards with a small box on each of their undersides.

"We thought that you could put it to good use, seeing how good you were with actual skateboards." Starr said, grinning. "Just remember, by accepting this gift, you hereby accept that any damage to this prototype is your responsibility, and you'll be monitored regularly for security purposes. Other than that, use it as much as you like!"

Rhyme began to examine her board. "Wow, these are really neat!"

"Hey, it's just like a skateboard! On wheels! Except smoother!" Beat hollered.

"Aww..." Starr sighed. "Don't you just feel like taking them home, J?"

"Considering the things we've went through together, the Agency practically is our home."

Things were going pretty well as the Bito siblings went to search for an exit, until suddenly...

"Freeze or we'll shoot!"

"Wait, what was that!?" Starr cried.

While nobody was looking, a group of people wearing armoured vests and cow masks had ambushed them, pointing their guns at J, Starr, and the Bito siblings.

"Hey, you two! Get out of here as fast as you can!" Starr demanded. "We'll provide a distraction, so don't worry about us!"

"But-"

"Don't worry! Just go, or they'll catch you!"

"[[Hey, ya think it'd be a good time to show off our new moves?]]" asked J.

"[[It would certainly be good practice,]]" Starr said, with a hand on her hip.

While the Bitos hastily ran toward the exit, J began yelling at the guards to distract them. "Hey, beefheads! Before you guys shoot us, you wanna see a show?"

Before the mooks could reply, the two Agents immediately sprung into a position reminiscent of a couple doing the tango. Gazing deeply into each other's eyes, they began to move, swiftly, yet fluidly among the small armada that surrounded them.

"What the hell are they doing?" one of them asked.

"I think they're... dancing!"

"Well, I think it's kinda cool!" another commented.

"It kinda makes you wanna..."

"Say a bunch of cross-cultural references?"

"Play all the Ouendan games?"

"Kill a kitten?"

The leader began to feel agitated by his underlings' rambling. "NO! I meant dance, you idiots!"

A few Cow Masks began to dance to the beat, ignoring their leader's orders not to.

"Hey, is it just me or do you kinda feel like sleeping right now..."

Shocked, the lead mook reached toward her mesmerized comrade. "Wait, what are you doing, Number 48!? Don't drop your gun-ooh, can I join too?" Before long, all of the armada either got too caught up dancing, or passed out from exhaustion to notice that the Agents already stopped their dancing long ago, and were pushing them into the ocean on a raft.

"[[Don't you think that's a little... cruel, Starr?]]" asked Spin.

"[[Don't worry, they had walkie-talkies. Besides, that exit leads to a dock, so people would notice them sooner or later.]]"

"[[Whatever you say, Starr. Whatever you say...]]"

Meanwhile, at the Dojo...

Joshua stood behind one of the dojo's many large windows, contemplating what to do next.

"It seems like only yesterday that I had a bet like the one I'm in right now... Staying here would be far too dangerous. However, I still need to keep in touch with the UG. The Conductor isn't an option, but I can still communicate with some of the high-ranking Officers. Say, that kind of gives me an idea..."

He was going to leave, until he heard the door open. "Joshua-san? Is that you?"

The silver-haired teen turned around, seeing what appeared to be a brunette wearing some rather frilly nightwear.

"Oh, I didn't know that you were still awake, Kikuchi-san."

"I thought that you would be asleep as well."

Smiling, Joshua stared at the sky, which was as clear as glass that night. "Sometimes, I like to stare at the moon. It gives me a sense of tranquility. Isn't that why you're here?"

"I do admit that the moon gives off a rather calming vibe. It reminds me of that fateful day, so very long ago... But how did you know that I enjoyed viewing it?"

The teen giggled. "I just have a talent for knowing these kinds of things. Which reminds me, could you give this letter to Neku tomorrow?" He then handed a small envelope to Shinta, with a small heart sticker to seal it.

"But why? Aren't you here until the 28th?"

"Oh, that's just a secret between me and Neku. Anyways, would you be so kind as to turn around for a moment?"

"Of course, but why do you want me to turn-"

As he said those few words, a loud whoosh was heard throughout the room. When he turned back, he realized that Joshua was gone, leaving the window wide open and curtains flowing in the breeze.

Frustrated, he thought to himself, "Why do I always have to be so gullible?"

Suzuku! (To be continued, or something.)

Author's notes:

-I think I want to introduce some OTO 1 side characters (like Torao, Ryuuji, Ryoko...)

-I need to learn how to make good fight scenes. Especially considering what I'd have to do for the final chapters...

-What's Joshua's great idea? Hint: It probably involves two very familiar Reapers who may or may not be Officers right now. Another group of "special characters" from TWEWY.

-TWEWY won't be alone in having "special characters," you know. A reporter, a detective, schoolchildren, robots... Anything's possible!