King remained out there, unconscious, all the way to the morning. Cowpoke and his buddies all gathered up so that they could start searching, and when they came across King unconscious on the ground with a big hole out of his living quarters, they were shocked.

"King!" Cowpoke knelt by King and tried shaking him to wake him up.

"...gnh..." King groaned, though he didn't move from where he was lying.

Smokey stomped over, and picked King up into the air. "Let me try," he bellowed quietly, shaking King violently in his grip.

"BLGLFRLGBL-" was basically what King sputtered in response to that.

"...it worked." Merde commented.

Shaking his head, King grabbed Smokey's hand to stop him from shaking him. "Alright; enough, already..." he groaned. "...ugh... last night was rough..."

"King, what happened?" Cowpoke asked, while Smokey put him down.

"...ugh..." King murmured... before his eyes widened. "...of course! That creature, Meta! It came to me last night!" Growling, he clenched his hands. "Oh, I'm gonna crush it for what it did to her..."

"...her?" Rott blinked. "Who are ya talking about?"

King quickly blinked, before he shook his head. "...it doesn't matter. What matters is that right now..." Then, his eyes widened. "...it... can turn into me..."

"…is that so…?" Cowpoke murmured. "…there's been more and more reports of his sighitn'… but he keeps slippin' away…"

"...yeah... pretty weird..." King murmured, rubbing his head. ...that... other creature... what was that?

"…we'll, we were wonderin' if you were going to start searching today," Cowpoke muttered.

"...yeah, yeah..." King nodded. "...better not waste too much time; I'll call Sage and the others to gather up."

"Right," Cowpoke said, nodding. "We'll go ahead and start lookin'…Proxy, Omega and Stella didn't have any luck last night, so it seems like you were the only one that actually saw 'im."

King nodded. "...right..." he murmured, rubbing his neck.

"...still feel out of it?" Merde assumed.

"Yeah... got pretty drained last night..." King nodded.

"…well, good luck then," Cowpoke said with a nod. "C'mon boys."

All five of them turned away to walk off.

Giving them a slight wave, King began walking off as well. "...alright; time to find Sage and the others..." he murmured, as he rubbed his neck.


"Man, this sucks," Ed said, moaning. "This stupid creature's running loose, and now everybody has to look for it.

"...tell me about it." Will murmured, as he rubbed his chin. "...can anyone tell me how we got roped into lookin' for it as well?"

"Most everybody did, so quit whining," grunted Seymour.

"I'll whine as much as I want, Seymour." Will grunted.

"...does that mean that we can whine, too, Will?" Marco inquired.

"Hell no." Will scoffed. "That's my privilege."

"Your privilege?" Seymour stopped and glared at Will. "Since when the hell did you think you could do whatever you want? You're not the leader of the group here!"

With a growl, Will suddenly shot Seymour a look, "I think that can be arranged quite easily, if you got the guts." he scoffed.

"Why you-!" Seymour raised his fist.

"I don't think now is a good time to fight…"

Seymour lowered his fist, and turned around. "Great…it's Diablo…"

"...and his little sister." Will huffed, as he shot a glance towards the two of them. "Mind your own beeswax, Diablo."

"...being nasty like always..." Kiri murmured, hiding behind Diablo.

"Listen; we all have to look for this thing, not just you guys," Diablo grumbled. "So keep it civil at least…"

Will let out a quick grunt, as he glanced away.

"...so... you guys have any luck?" Marco inquired, tilting his head.

"…not yet…" Diablo muttered, turning to walk away. "…but if we do, we'll make sure it doesn't get away…c'mon Kiri."

Nodding, Kiri walked after Diablo.

When they were out of earshot, Will shook his head. "...those two just give me the creeps..."

"…I'll say…" Ed sputtered, trembling.

"...let's just keep looking..." Marco murmured.

"...right." Will huffed, before he began walking off.


Meanwhile, Diablo and Kiri ended up wandering into the woods. "…I wonder what sort of creature this is, if it can slip past everyone…" Diablo murmured.

"...maybe it just doesn't wanna be around the nasties..." Kiri murmured.

"…what I don't understand is why it doesn't try to swim off of the island," Diablo mused.

"...maybe it can't swim?" Kiri shrugged. "I can't swim, either..."

"…but it sounds pretty dangerous nonetheless," Diablo muttered.

"...I bet you can take it out, if it decides to be nasty." Kiri said, looking up at Diablo. "Because you're strong like that... right, big brother?"

Diablo looked down at Kiri. "…listen Kiri…there are some things I really should tell you-!" Diablo stopped because he heard something, and he stood in front of Kiri protectively.

Kiri blinked, as she looked ahead of her.

That's when they saw Meta slowly step toward them.

"…that looks like the creature everyone was talking about…" Diablo murmured. "…whatever you do, don't move Kiri…"

"...okay..." Kiri nodded, though her eyes widened slightly.

Meta continued to step toward them.

"…what do you want?" Diablo called out at it.

Kiri just kept quiet, though she didn't move, like Diablo told her to.

Meta hissed at Diablo… and then he jumped. Diablo saw that coming and shoved Kiri out of the way so she wouldn't get pounced on like him.

Being pushed to the side, Kiri quickly shot a look at Diablo. "Big brother!" she called out.

"Kiri, go and get help!" Diablo called out, glaring up at a drooling Meta. "I'll hold him off here!"

Kiri gulped, before she nodded. "...o-okay!" she said, before she began running away.

"RAGH!" Diablo was able to push Meta off, and thus, a battle ensued between the two. "I don't care what you do to me, but you leave Kiri out of it, got it?" Diablo yelled at Meta.

In the meantime, Kiri kept running through the woods as fast as her legs could carry her. "...gotta find help... gotta find help..." she uttered to herself, narrowing her eyes a bit.

When Kiri had run pretty far, she spotted a tall figure in the distance, just sitting there by a tree stump.

Seeing this, she breathed. "...hey! I need help!" she called.

Eventually, the tall figure turned to look at her. "...who are you?" it spoke in a robotic voice.

"...what's wrong?" At that point, a black hedgehog walked into view, looking at Kiri with a hum.

"…Kiri, is that you?" a bird walked around Omega, seeing Kiri with wide eyes.

"...Stella?" Kiri blinked.

"...what's wrong?" the hedgehog inquired.

"...big brother found the creature! And he's fighting it!" Kiri quickly said.

"What?" Stella's eyes widened even more.

"Come on, you have to hurry!" Kiri called, as she began running off.

"...tsch... let's follow her!" the hedgehog called, as he began running after Kiri. The robot followed after them. Stella hurried ahead of them, catching up with Kiri.

The next thing they knew, they encountered Meta and Diablo in bad shape; Meta knocking Diablo against the tree.

Kiri's eyes widened. "BIG BROTHER!"

The hedgehog hissed. "...Omega, get ready!"

The robot nodded, as he got in a fighting stance.

Diablo weakly looked back up at Meta while he pounced on him again, and slammed his hand right into Diablo's forehead.

"Tsch-" With that, the hedgehog suddenly rushed at Meta, to try and kick it away from Diablo. When the hedgehog went to do that, Meta had already connected himself to Diablo, so kicking him away resorted to forcibly ripping his bond with Diablo.

That caused Diablo more pain than he could ever imagine… and he screamed.

Kiri gasped upon seeing that. "BIG BROTHER!" she cried out.

Shooting a look at Diablo, the hedgehog grit his teeth; "...shit..." Quickly, however, he turned his attention towards Meta, and launched himself at the creature to pin it down.

While Meta was pinned down, Stella went quickly over to Diablo to pin him down as well. "Diablo! It's okay! We got the creature!" she screamed, trying to talk to him. Diablo just kept screaming and trying to wriggle his way away from Stella…

…then he collapsed onto the ground, eyes wide open.

Kiri's eyes widened considerably, as she rushed over to Diablo, quickly shaking him. "Big brother! Big brother! Wake up!"

As the hedgehog and the robot stood over Meta, they looked towards Diablo as well.

It didn't seem like they could wake Diablo up, like he had fallen into a coma with wide open eyes. Meta watched, and the only reason the hedgehog kept him pinned was because he had been weakened from the ripped bond too.

"...Stella, you should take him to the infirmary." the hedgehog said, before he looked at the robot. "Omega, restrain Meta."

"Acknowledged, Proxy." Nodding, the robot grabbed the creature, and held it tightly so it couldn't escape.

Stella managed to pick Diablo up without too much trouble. "C'mon Kiri," she said. "We'll make sure Diablo's okay…"

Kiri didn't say anything, though she stood by Stella with a nod.

"We'll see you guys later…" Stella said to Proxy and Omega, ready to walk away.

"...later." Proxy said with a nod to Stella.

With that, Stella trudged away with a motionless Diablo. Kiri trotted after her, though as she left, she shot Meta a spiteful look.

Meta made no other response to that, and he just looked back at Proxy and Omega.

"...alright; I hate to do this, but we need to get you back to the ARK, Meta." Proxy sighed, as he looked at the experiment. "You've caused a great deal of distress around the island; you do realize that, right?"

Meta turned away from Proxy, growling.

"...come along." With a hum, Proxy began walking off, with Omega following him.


Meta's capture was announced, and everyone grew relieved, going back to their own business shortly afterwards. Meta was taken to their capsule to be locked up, and Proxy and Omega would leave him there for the night, so they could spend one more day here on the island and take off for the ARK tomorrow.

Meta was sitting in a closed space within the capsule while the evening started to come closer, and it sat there; absorbed within its own thoughts about all the information about everyone that it collected. This was a warrior nation, created by a group of warriors that endured a hardship that they couldn't control. Here, warriors could fight however they wanted, and be as free as they could be.

But it seemed like most warriors here took advantage of the fact that there were less dire consequences here than there were in the outside world for whatever actions they took. One had slaves, another plotted mutiny, and the rest had no idea of the others intentions.

Here, utter chaos could manifest at any time… any moment…

…it was all the same to Meta.

At that point, something knocked on the door.

Meta could only look up at the door… after all, it was locked so that he couldn't get out.

But then, to his surprise... the door slowly opened.

Meta stood up from where he sat, watching the door warily. The thoughts he detected from the one opening it were very hostile…

When the door opened fully, he'd see Kiri standing there; glaring at him as she held a knife in her hand. "...you hurt my big brother... you're the nastiest of nasties..." she uttered, clenching the knife considerably, "...I'll never forgive you..." Meta crouched readily, when Kiri would try to strike him.

Letting out a cry, Kiri ran towards Meta, intending to stab it with the knife. Meta jumped away and slammed Kiri to the ground, pressing his hand to her forehead like what he's done to the others. Crying out, Kiri flailed her arms about wildly, trying desperately to lodge the knife somewhere into Meta. Meta pressed his hand hard down on Kiri, and started to absorb her energy…

…then a foot came flying his direction, and knocked him against the wall of the capsule.

Instantly, Kiri's eyes widened; she had been disconnected from Meta like Diablo before her, so it didn't take long for her to start screaming from the top of her lungs, writhing on the floor in agony. Meta looked at Kiri, and then he saw a tall figure stand over her, looking down at her with piercing, glowing red eyes. This woman, this ewe, only looked at the screaming child in indifference, and eventually smirked up at Meta.

Meta started to grow very bewildered, the more he tried to read this woman… he saw two different thought patterns, one currently shut off at the moment while the other was very much active. For the first time on this island, he encountered a mentally complicated being… and she still continued to smirk at Meta, as if this woman was merely amused at the sight of this creature.

So instead of trying to explore the being further on, Meta took the opportunity of escape, running swiftly past the woman and into the dark of the woods.

The woman saw him run off, still smirking. Eventually, she looked back down at Kiri, and the eyes flashed from red to green.


Jill brought in a hysterical Kiri into the infirmary, frightened most of all for why she was in there in the capsule. She had no idea there was another child here on the island other than Mud-Pie and Joy, and to see the child acting so neurotic was… traumatizing for her.

"H-hurts!" Kiri cried, losing just about all control over her breathing. "Make it stop! It hurts!"

Jill wanted to reassure her, but there was nothing she could say or do. The only thing she could do is get help for her.

Luckily, Miser and Ripper were still in there when Jill came barging in with Kiri. Looking at this, both of them were quite startled. "Another one?" Miser uttered, as she rushed over to Jill, looking at Kiri, who was still sobbing uncontrollably. "...what happened, Jill?" she said, as she hurriedly took Kiri.

Jill whipped out the notepad and managed to write shakily while they got Kiri to a bed; I blacked out, and when I came too, I was standing in the capsule with her screaming on the floor.

"..kekeke; that's not good..." Ripper uttered.

"...wait... the capsule?" Instantly, Miser looked at Jill again. "That's where they stored Meta! Did... did he escape again?"

Jill's eyes widened. I think he did! I never saw him in there! She wrote.

"...oh, of all the..." Miser uttered, before she looked at Ripper. "You and Jill have to let the others know! I'll keep an eye on Kiri!"

"Right!" Ripper nodded, before he looked at Jill. "Let's go, keke!"

Jill nodded and the two of them hurried off quickly; Jill especially, because she wasn't sure how much of the child screaming she could bear.


Jill and Ripper luckily, ran into Proxy and Omega just chatting with Ani while she was sweeping up the pub.

Both of them looked at the two in surprise when they burst into the pub. "...what's wrong?" Proxy hummed.

"...the experiment..." Ripper began. "...kekeke... it broke free...!"

Instantly, Proxy's eyes widened upon hearing that. "...what?"

"It broke free?" Omega sputtered as well.

Jill nodded.

"W-we gotta warn everybody then!" Ani uttered.

"Right." Proxy said, quickly calming down. "Let's move out; both to warn the others, and to bring Meta in again."

Jill nodded, and she was the first one to run out. Instead of going to warn the others like everybody else, she was going to seek out Meta herself…

While the others started warning everyone, Jill wandered deep into the forest, and she came across the old ruins of the GUN base. She knew that a lot of people had already searched around the forest, but she presumed that Meta would find a small crawlspace in the ruins to hide in away from everyone else…

Plus, she really hadn't been able to explore these old ruins before until now…

So she found a way in and kept running through hallways, and corridors, and chambers, and offices…

…then she started getting into the darker parts of the base. Jill at first started growing frustrated because she couldn't see… and then she found herself in a large pitch black room, feeling around for a light switch or something.

She felt some kind of lever and pulled it up, to discover a large generator room that flashed into the light before her; the generators having been turned on thanks to her. With the issue of light settled, Jill left the room and continued down the hallway to see what else she would find.

Then she headed toward a pair of gigantic double doors. On the door, it had large letters.

"AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY," in big, red, faded letters.

I wonder what this place is, Jill thought curiously. When she stepped toward the doors, somehow, they opened up to her, and she walked inside.

Jill looked all around this place. Things flashed before her eyes from a time long ago when this place was newer and operating. Robots were chasing after a certain white bat, who expertly picked them apart and destroyed them while flying through the air. The white bat even flashed Jill a smirk as she flew over her.

Then Jill took another look, and everything was as it was when she first walked in. Rust in many places, and even some weeds and vines growing through the walls. Everything looked so aged…

This place, was where Rouge the Bat infiltrated to get the Chaos Emeralds for Eggman, during the time of the ARK's reawakening. She could remember most of the details that Shadow the Hedgehog described for her when he told that story to her and the boys long ago.

He called it Security Hall.

To think a place of that historic value still existed here…and it didn't look as damaged as most of the other buildings. Some of the stationary GUN units even still looked operational.

Now there was food for thought… a place of nostalgia where Jill could train alone in peace and quiet.

Heck, there were plenty of places of nostalgia; the harbor where the ferry docks isn't too far from the part of the harbor where Sonic the Hedgehog himself once ran through, Metal Harbor, and the part of the forest that Sonic ran through too, Green Forest.

Remembering the stories that the Professor told her, Jill felt sad, but… somewhat comfortable at the same time. She was somewhere that she was familiar with… and believe it or not, stories about Sonic the Hedgehog is what helped her emotionally heal when the Professor and Brick first found her…

She remembered the first morning she discovered she was lying in a bed, when she remembered moments before collapsing in the middle of a jungle weakly. She wasn't sure what would come of her when she lied there in that cold jungle during the day.

Now, she was apprehensive of where she was, and she jumped out of bed… only to fall right back down on the ground weakly, realizing that she had no strength, whatsoever. She knocked over a standing tray in the process, causing a loud crash to the floor. Jill felt so hot, she was burning up on her forehead when she touched it. She felt so ill…

"…Hey!" A figure ran into the room, and helped her up. "What do you think you're doing stupid? You're sick!"

"…stupid…?" Jill felt hurt and offended by that, but when she looked up at who it was that was trying to help her up, they both stopped. She stared at those strong-willed brown eyes with wonder and slight anxiety.

"…uh…uh, I um…" That bull with the nose-ring was blank in the head and slightly red in the face. "…you're… you're not stupid… that's just a habit I have…" Eventually, the bull picked her up off the ground without a problem and put her back to bed. "Listen though… you're not feeling well at all. You shouldn't try to do anything at the moment…"

"…but…but I can't…I don't…" Jill was trying to find the words to say but the delirium of her fever was causing her to lose her train of thought.

"…hey, calm down…" hushed the bull, putting the covers over her again. "…My name's Brick Cainfield… I found you in the jungle and I brought you to the Professor's workshop in the Mystic Ruins. You know, Professor Miles "Tails" Prower?"

Jill looked at this bull inquiringly. "…who's… that?"

Brick Cainfield only looked at her, dumbfounded. "…you…never heard of the Professor? But everyone's heard of him! How can you not hear about Professor Miles "Tails" Prower?" He was just so baffled by the fact that this girl didn't know him. Jill grew more hurt, like maybe she should've known who he was when traveling the world, if he was so famous. She turned away.

Brick saw that and felt guilty, "Aw, don't go looking all pouty and stuff. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings…" but he still wondered why she never heard of him. "…you're… not from around here, are you?"

Jill shook her head. "…no…I'm not…" and she looked away sadly.

"… you alright?" Brick asked worriedly.

"…not really…"

"…you wanna talk about it…?"

"…I wouldn't be comfortable talking about it…"

Brick blinked. "…well…" and he scratched his head. "…can…I at least know your name?"

Jill remained silent. For so long, she's never had to give her name to a stranger, and for some reason… she couldn't pull herself to do it. Maybe because she was afraid of letting someone get close to her. They could get hurt… anyone that helped her could get involved with what trouble she was in…

"…if I don't know you're name, I might have to end up coming up with a nickname for you," Brick remarked. "Not sure if you'll like a nickname that Brick Cainfield will pick for you…"

Jill once again didn't answer.

"…well…I'll let the Professor know that you're awake," Brick said, turning to leave the room.

"…wait."

Brick stopped for a minute and looked back at Jill. She turned and looked back at him with sincere eyes. "…thank you…" she uttered.

Brick… Jill grew sad just thinking about it…

"...there you are, Jill."

Jill blinked and turned around, realizing she wasn't alone.

Approaching her was a familiar raven, who stopped in front of her. "...planning on taking on Meta on your own, huh?" she hummed.

Jill nodded, figuring there was no way she could really lie to Sage anyway.

Sage let out a brief sigh. "...may I ask why you decided upon that idea?"

part of me feels like Meta may have escaped because of me, Jill thought, looking away from Sage. …and that child…she…

"...hrm..." Sage hummed, folding her arms. "...still... it's a dangerous creature, Jill. What if it managed to drain you as well, with none of us knowing that you had gone here on your own?"

Jill just kept looking away from Sage when she said that.

"...look, I get that you felt like it was your responsibility." Sage said, placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "...but the next time you feel that way... at least ask for a little backup, hm?"

Jill finally looked back at Sage and nodded again.

…then she caught something out of the corner of her eyes, and she flinched, looking over there. She caught a glimpse of something moving across one of the floors and then it disappeared.

Looking there as well, Sage hummed. "...guess we found it." she mused. Jill's eyes widened, and then she quickly took off after where she saw that figure disappear. Letting out a brief sigh, Sage flew after Jill.

Jill grabbed a pulley to yank herself up to another floor, and right when she landed there, the thing she saw screeched to a halt. She looked upon the sight of a baffled Meta, who could sense that the other mind was in control now…and this mind was much different than that other one.

Jill ran forward with a kick, and Meta jumped over it. Then Jill started throwing punches, and Meta blocked them off.

Flying over the two of them, Sage just looked down at the battle, ready to intervene if things would go sour for Jill.

Things turned around and Meta was on the offensive, throwing some hits toward Jill that she blocked. When she threw another kick, Meta jumped back, and he started to morph…

…turning into Hex.

Jill's eyes widened, and when Meta threw tentacles at her, she jumped away.

Sage blinked. "...he got to her, too?"

Meta kept throwing tentacles… until suddenly, he saw Jill grab one of them to stop him. He looked at her, and he suddenly sensed a lot of hate coming off of Jill, while she yanked him up and threw him down onto the ground on the other side.

Sage stopped in the air when she saw this, looking at Jill with a surprised look.

Meta morphed back to normal, prying free from Jill's grip, and then he morphed into someone else; King. Electricity crackled in his palms, and he shot the bolts at Jill who jumped away from them.

"King, too..." Sage uttered, as she looked at Meta as well.

Jill tried running back toward Meta while he shot lightning bolts, and she actually managed to get past most of them. Meta was able to get one hit on her, but that was right when Jill was able to kick Meta in the face and knock him backwards a bit.

Meta changed from King to another figure… Spiel.

Jill was shocked to see that. Even Sage gaped. "He got to Spiel?" she sputtered.

Jill wasn't going to let that stop her though, and she aimed a punch for Meta's stomach.

That was a mistake, because Meta was able to withstand that punch, and even bounce Jill backward. Sage grit her teeth, as she looked at Meta. ...if it's copied Spiel's strength as well... Jill's going to be in trouble.

Meta stomped toward Jill, and she tried another punch, but that was easily bounced back off his large stomach. Oh no… how am I going to fight him? Jill thought worriedly.

Then Meta punched her, and Jill went flying in the air off of the second floor.

"JILL!" Quickly, Sage flew right after Jill, a distressed look on her. Okay, this isn't good at all!

Meta watched Jill hit the titanic ground harshly, and for a moment, Jill couldn't even move.

Quickly, Sage landed by Jill, checking on her. "Jill... come on, get up...!"

Jill tried, but she just fell back down. You're going to have to try and get him, Jill thought, seeing Meta morph back to normal and scamper away.

Hissing a bit, Sage looked at Meta. "...very well..." With that, she flew right at Meta, directing her powers at the creature like a battering ram to send him crashing into a wall.

Meta hit the wall, creating a dent, and it looked in shock at Sage.

…that power…

Looking directly at Meta, Sage hissed. "...don't expect any mercy from me. Got that?" she uttered.

Meta fell to the ground, and then it looked back up at Sage blankly.

Still looking at the creature, Sage frowned. "...got nothing to say, hm?"

Meta stared at Sage even longer. Her mental prowess was magnificent…it was the best mentality he's ever seen out of any of the warriors here on the island… and while King seemed so familiar to something else he knew, this raven compared to him in the same…

"...what's that look for?" Sage inquired, narrowing her eyes. "Speak up."

Meta stood up and kept staring at Sage.

You…your mental strength is phenomenal…

Sage blinked, before she narrowed her eyes. ...compliments aren't gonna help you, you know.

But you have abilities like mine…and your friend, the tiger; he had abilities like…her.

Sage blinked. ...her?

Meta sent rapid images into Sage's head; the same images that he once showed King. They were in the laboratory, and there were scientists… most of all, there was that other alien that looked like him too, but with the orange streaks and feminine figure.

She was not given any particular name, like I was… but she possessed the same abilities as your friend did…

More images flashed where that alien threw her hands at conduits and monitors and they all either short-circuited or turned on. She grew violent and scientists had to restrain her heavily.

Sage could do nothing but blink at everything that was being shown in her mind.

you've read the file… so you know what we are…

What went through Sage's head next were incubation pods in the dark of a cave, covered with dark purple mist and black and red muscles on the walls. Certain aliens pulled the incubation pods out and were seen transporting them to the scientists that would put them aboard the ARK.

we were failed experiments of the Black Arms sent to Gerald to be disposed of… forced to watch as they dissected our brothers and sisters… they would have dissected us too if they had not witnessed our abilities…

Meta and that other alien tried to escape through the halls, but somehow managed to be captured again.

They kept us alive to observe us instead…. Once again, treating us like the experiments we were…

Sage just blinked at all of this, unable to make a response to it.

you know how it feels to be treated as such… that's how that man treated all of you and your friends…

Sage grit her teeth a little upon being reminded of that.

Three generations of children, bred and genetically enhanced to create unstoppable soldiers… it must have been hard.

Sage narrowed her eyes, still just glaring at Meta.

...what I would like to know, is why you possess my abilities… and why your tiger friend has my sister's powers…

Sage remained silent.

"...does it look like I know that?" she eventually replied. "We were unconscious while our powers were given to us, so no one actually remembers how it happened; it just did."

what a shame then…?

Suddenly, Meta was tackled, and having been distracted with Sage, he didn't notice that Jill had gotten up there to grab Meta and push themselves over the edge to land on the first floor; Meta pinned underneath Jill.

"Uh- JILL?" Quickly, Sage stormed to the edge so she could see what was going on.

Jill glared down at Meta, while it just looked back up at her.

this woman…she's been through much hardship…

Quickly, Sage began flying down to the first floor as well; ready to help Jill if the need arose.

Jill tried to punch Meta, but he just grabbed the punch.

she is bold…and naïve…

Meta threw Jill back down on the ground, and Jill looked at Meta with wide eyes.

...get the hell away from her! Sage suddenly screamed in Meta's head, as she stopped right above them, her eyes sparking with psychic energy.

Jill stared in shock while Meta just looked up at Sage.

I'm not giving you any more warnings! Sage called again, as energy just brimmed from her. If you don't get off her this instant, I will deliver a world of pain onto you!

Meta continued to look at her… but eventually, he raised his hand toward Jill's forehead, making her quiver a bit in panic.

Instantly, Sage's eyes widened. I WARNED YOU!

Before Meta could grab Jill's forehead, he was suddenly whisked up into the air by Sage; suspended in the air over the ewe.

Jill looked up in awe while Meta just continued to look at Sage.

I could tear you up into shreds if I so desired! Sage hissed in Meta's head, as she kept glaring at him. And I don't care how important it is that you return to the ARK; I may very well do it if you suck anything out of my friends again! Do you understand?

I would rather die than go back to the Ark…

Hearing that actually subsided Sage's rage, though she still kept Meta suspended in the air. ...pardon?

I was trapped there for many years… and being there only reminds me of the past that I wish to escape from.

Sage just looked at Meta with a tilted head; she hadn't expected to hear this.

I had to watch my brothers and sisters go through hard times… but her… I had to watch her die on her overdose of power…

Sage saw a scene where that creature was raging about, shooting electricity and throwing a hysterical fit. Sage blinked again; just watching these images in her head. She saw Meta run at her and pin her down, trying to calm her…

…but she threw him off, and then jammed her hand into a very large computer.

She attempted to destroy the life support of the ARK so that everyone would die and we could finally escape… unfortunately, all the energy stored up in the ARK was too much for her, and it backfired on her.

The alien howled in absolute pain while it shook in a seizure of massive energy that shot her off. When she was on the ground, Meta tried to touch her, but lightning shot everywhere out of her and she continued to howl.

"...that's..." Sage uttered, as she couldn't stop looking at these images in her head.

Finally, the lightning stopped and the creature collapsed. Meta stepped toward the other alien and touched her. She didn't move.

and while I was sealed away for years… this all feels like it happened merely days ago… I grew so unstable that they would have to dispose of me, but I presume that they never got the chance to do such a thing when GUN invaded the ARK to repossess it and rid all of the evidence of everything that took place there.

Still, Sage was quiet, as she just looked at Meta.

I know nothing but how to fight… so the only use is to kill me right now.

Sage remained silent, as she slowly floated towards Meta. Jill looked in wonder at what would happen.

Eventually, Sage stopped in front of Meta, looking at him.

"...idiot."

With that one word, she suddenly slapped Meta right across his face.

Jill became shocked, and Meta looked back at Sage in the same reaction.

"...don't be so quick to want to throw your life away." Sage uttered in an absolutely chilling tone, as she just glared at Meta. "To want that is to just throw in the towel and give up... you think dying will make everything better? That everything in the past would just be abolished if you perished?"

It is not in the perspective that I want to give up… it is only that I see nowhere else I could fit in this world… I fulfill no worthwhile purpose.

Sage's eyes narrowed again, as she slapped Meta again. "You think we didn't feel the same way back then?" she yelled. "We always felt that aside from our line of work, there was nothing else left in life for any of us... and what happened after that? King founded Safe Haven!" Then, she aimed a piercing glare directly at Meta. "...if you think that you don't have a purpose in the world, then maybe you should actually search for a purpose. It'd be better than tossing your life aside because you just thought that there wasn't anything in the world for you."

Jill's eyes widened, hearing her say that.

that sounds like…

She remembered Metal back then, and she looked up at Meta. …does he really feel that way…?

Still, Sage just glared at Meta.

well then, what do you propose I do? How exactly should I look for my own purpose?

"...first off, you should stop thinking that it'd be best for you to simply die." Sage uttered. "From there, you should find something that you like doing; Keyword being you, not anyone else."

But how would you explain this to that android and that robot?

"...I'd talk to them about it, and I'd let you chip in with your own thoughts." Sage retorted. "You think just because they came to get you back, they wouldn't listen to what you had to say for yourself? I know that they're better than that."

Meta remained silent after that.

Jill managed to stand back up on her feet.

"...well?" Sage uttered, narrowing her eyes.

very well…

Sage nodded. "Alright. Now are you going to come along quietly?"

Meta nodded, and Jill became surprised.

Sage nodded again. "Alright; let's find Proxy and Omega, and let them know about this." With that, she turned to look at Jill. "...shall we?"

Slowly, Jill nodded.


Meanwhile, in the infirmary, all things were quiet. Miser and Ripper weren't there, and right now, most of the patients were resting…

…then…there was a chuckle. Soon, it erupted to insane laughter.

One of the patients was wriggling in their bed, until they eventually fell to the floor, and the laughter paused for a moment while they got back up. Then they chuckled again while they trudged through the room.

"Kiri…" he chuckled malevolently. "…Oh Kiri…where are you? Heheheh…"

"...Big... Brother...?" a small voice uttered, as Kiri slowly sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"That's right Kiri…it's your Big Brother…" the voice chuckled. "…it's time to get up…"

"...is it really...?" Kiri hummed...

...before she giggled a bit.

"…yes," The voice said in a smug tone. Then he raised his hand out to Kiri. "Let's go, shall we?"

"...yes." Nodding, Kiri took his hand, and hopped out of bed with another giggle. "...can we take one of them with us? I want to play..."

"Sure we can," the one holding Kiri's hand chuckled. They walked through the room and he went by one of the beds, snatching away one of the patients.

"Wha?" they woke up and looked up in fear. "D-D-Diablo?"

"I hope you don't mind… but little Kiri here wants to play," Diablo stared the patient down with faded, lifeless crimson eyes and he wore a maniacal looking grin.

Giggling, Kiri looked up at the patient. "...I hope we can become really good friends..." she said, as her eyes took on a similar lifeless look, grinning just like Diablo.

"….w-w-what do you th-think you're d-d-doing?" The patient uttered, getting shoved out of the room by Diablo.

"We're going to play…" Diablo chuckled.

"No!" The patient tried to squirm free. "No! I-I don't believe y-you!"

"Oh why would we lie?" Diablo cackled even more.

"...we're just going to play." Kiri giggled. "Just some fun between friends... there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"No!" The patient grew more frightened.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"


"...hmmm?" Humming, Hex glanced around her, thinking she heard a scream of sorts. "...hrm... must've been my imagination..." Shrugging, she kept walking through the forest. "...now... where is Raider right now...?"

She eventually stumbled upon Raider standing there in the opening, talking to Spiel. "…so I missed it, huh?" Raider muttered.

"Seems like it." Spiel shrugged, chewing on a leg of ham. "Show's all over, from what I've gathered."

"…damn…" Raider grew irritated. "You're a lucky bastard, you know that?"

"Maybe I was born under a lucky star?" Spiel quipped; grinning as he took another bite out of his meal. "In any case, if you wanted to see the creature, no dice; it's being kept in high-security custody."

"…well…thanks for the info," Raider murmured.

"Don't mention it." Spiel shrugged, before he began walking off. "Just make sure not to get in over your head; it could turn out poorly for ya." With that, he was gone.

At this point, Hex came out from where she had been standing. "...what was that all about?" she hummed.

"That creature's been captured again, after it escaped," Raider murmured. "I wanted to know where it might be so I could get a look at it…"

"...and there's no way of you getting to it, hm?" Hex hummed, before she folded her arms. "Guess things just aren't going any of our ways, lately..."

"…hm…" Raider just grunted, and folded his arms.

Then, Hex just groaned. "And still, my cells are completely empty... I got nothing to kill time with at the moment. It's really frustrating, at this point..."

"Oh boo hoo, you and your sick desires," Raider groaned. "I don't get to find out why that creature's here… all that Spiel told me was that it was from the ARK and it was another experiment that they worked on besides Shadow the Hedgehog…"

"...hmph; wouldn't surprise me, given what it was capable of..." Hex mused, before she shot Raider a look. "...besides, you still get to fill out what you can find out about everyone else in your notes. I have people who keep me up-to-date about others, so what do you expect me to do?" she huffed.

Raider shrugged. "Play solitaire? Hell if I know what you should do with yourself, Hex…"

"...you're not helping." Hex huffed, before she folded her arms. "...speaking of helping, you haven't forgotten about our deal, have you?"

"…hm?" Raider now looked questionably at Hex.

"You know, that whole "you taking revenge against Jill and Cowpoke in my stead" thing? Surely you remember that." Hex hummed, tapping her arm as she looked incredulously at Raider.

"…right…guess when that creature came crashing down, I almost forgot about that," Raider said.

"Good thing I reminded you of it, then." Hex huffed, before she approached Raider. "Even with that creature stirring up the place, there's only a few months left before the recruits decide whether or not they'll leave the island. If Cowpoke and his son are among those who leave, and you still haven't done anything that could qualify as revenge..." Then, she scoffed. "...I might just have to take my frustrations out on someone."

Raider shoved Hex away. "I get the idea…I'll get to work on that 'revenge' for you as soon as possible…" he growled.

"Good." Hex huffed. "Just remember... I'm not one to leave unsatisfied. It makes me... bitter."

"Yeah, yeah…" Raider grumbled, walking away from her.

Folding her arms, Hex hummed. ...maybe... if no one's by the infirmary, I could send Koopman to... Whistling, she began slithering off.


Meanwhile, everybody else gathered at the pub again. King and his group, along with Proxy and Omega were consulting on the matter of Meta's fate, and what things Sage had learned while speaking with him through telepathy. Since the pub was closed to the outside public, Jill and Joy sat outside with Sonia, Cowpoke and his group, Ivory, Mia, Brute, and Stella. They all didn't say anything to each other for awhile… they just waited silently for their meeting to go on.

"…Cowpoke…" Cowpoke looked up at Stella, who shuffled her feet nervously. "…you're…not still mad at me…are you…?"

Cowpoke was silent, and a somber look crossed his face while he looked back down onto the ground. "…don't ask me that right now…" he grumbled.

"…okay…" Stella looked away in guilt.

"…you seem to be the one to hold stubborn grudges, eh?" Ivory guessed.

"…s'pose…" Cowpoke murmured.

"…that's Cowpoke for you…" commented Smokey.

Jill looked over at Cowpoke thoughtfully. Of course he would still be mad at Stella for what happened not too long ago… after all, Cowpoke had been trapped in a corner, forced to choose harsh decisions… and after being told how he felt for her, it still made Jill worry. While Cowpoke was getting over what happened with Hex… she wasn't sure if he was getting over the fact that he felt like they couldn't work, despite how he felt for her.

"...they sure are taking a long while in there." Mia commented.

"Well, it's some heavy-duty stuff they're talking about." Sonia mused. "Not much else we can do but wait."

"...I guess..." Rott sighed.

"...hm." Merde hummed.

Joy toddled back and forth between everyone, sucking and nibbling on her fingers. Eventually, she toddled over to Jill. "Mama, Mama…" Jill looked at her, and Joy opened her arms and jumped. "Uppy! Uppy!" Jill picked her up and held her, and Joy hugged her while resting her head on her shoulder.

"…I still don't know why you came to a warrior nation with a child, Condit," Ivory mumbled, getting an inquiring look from Jill.

"Yeah; it seems kinda... risky; especially with some of the hoodlums around here." Mia hummed.

"…she wanted to get strong again so she could protect Joy…"

Jill's eyes widened and looked to Cowpoke.

"…and you know this…how?" Ivory asked.

"…because I do," Cowpoke said, closing his eyes.

"...alright...?" Mia blinked.

Jill's brows arched, and Cowpoke stood up. "…I…need to be alone for a bit," he spoke. "…would you guys mind watchin' my boy?"

"But Dad, where are you going?" Mud-Pie asked.

"…just somewhere where I can think," Cowpoke murmured, walking away.

Watching him leave, Sonia hummed. "...got a lot on his mind, huh..." she mused.

"…he's been like that a lot," Mud-Pie said. "…I don't know why…but I kinda wish I could help my dad if there was anything wrong…"

guess he doesn't know what happened with Hex… Ivory supposed in thought.

"...he hasn't let us talk to him about it, either..." Merde hummed, folding his arms.

"...not a word, huh?" Sonia blinked, looking at Merde, Rott and Smokey.

Jill looked at all of them, and she set down Joy to walk after Cowpoke. "Mama?" Joy called out in questioning, but Jill just kept walking on after Cowpoke.

Stella watched that, and looked down at the ground, feeling even guiltier than ever.

"...should we follow them?" Rott hummed.

"...let's leave them alone for a bit." Sonia mused.

Stella looked at the pub, wondering just how long they were going to take…

"What?" Inside, Hunter was baffled. "You mean to say that Meta…?"

"Yep; he wants to find a purpose in life." Sage nodded.

"...well... this is certainly a surprising development." Proxy hummed, rubbing his chin.

Meta only stood there, looking at all of them…

"…well, uh…" Ani wasn't sure what to say; she just scratched her head.

"...that's... um..." King hummed, rubbing his neck.

"...curious." Omega eventually hummed. "Yet... familiar."

"...really, now?" Queen hummed, rubbing her chin in thought.

"...alright..." Proxy hummed, pressing his hands together. "...this is an unexpected turn, but... what would Meta have in mind?"

Sage glanced at Meta; motioning for it to answer Proxy's inquiry.

I would have not a clue where to start…other then perhaps… Meta looked at King. …finding out why he has the same powers as her.

"...her?" Proxy hummed, pressing his hands together. "...who are you talking about? There might be some records of the one you speak in ARK's databanks."

perhaps… Meta thought. …but I want to know more about you all…

"...about all of us?" Humming, Proxy looked at everyone gathered. "...well..."

"...well... what about us would you like to know about?" Sage inquired.

the woman with the two minds, Proxy began. I've only glimpsed into her mind… and it shows me so much at just one glance… and all of your minds seem to show the same things… but it takes longer for you to get to where she was…

"...you... want to know about Jill...?" Proxy hummed, folding his arms. "...well... where do we begin, there...?"

"…maybe Sage can show you?" Hunter suggested.

"...yeah; I'll do that." Sage hummed, placing a hand on Meta's head. "Some of this is very delicate information; I'd advise you not to throw it around recklessly. Understood?"

Meta nodded.

"...alright; here goes..." Sage hummed, closing her eyes as she began showing Meta what he wanted to see.


Cowpoke was too lost in thought to notice someone was following him in the distance. It wasn't until he actually heard footsteps that he stopped and turned. "Oh…" Jill walked up to it, halting in front of him. "…you didn't hafta follow me…" Cowpoke muttered, kicking a pebble on the ground aside.

Jill tilted her head, and stepped closer to Cowpoke, pulling out her notepad.

I'm worried about you… she wrote.

"…that's nice o' you…but…you didn't hafta worry," Cowpoke said, turning away from her.

Jill set a hand on Cowpoke's shoulder, but that didn't seem to get much a response.

"…I'm just thinkin' 'bout…you know…what I'm gonna do when I get back," Cowpoke muttered. "…back to the outside world…"

Jill's eyebrows arched some more, and she pulled her hand away from Cowpoke's shoulder. Cowpoke eventually sighed, and the air grew tense.

what's wrong? Jill wrote, walking around to show it to Cowpoke.

"…I only have a few months here left… and that's the last I'm gonna ever see you and Joy," Cowpoke looked up at Jill with sad eyes. "…after what happened… I dun't think I could bring myself to do anything but just push through the training until then…" Then he looked away. "…even with how I feel…I know that things can't work between us…I can only assume that you ain't ready to get back into a relationship… and I'm right, ain't I?"

Jill looked away uncomfortably.

"…I thought so…" Cowpoke closed his eyes and pulled his hat down over his face. "…so…it's only best that nothin' else happens to make things more complicated…"

Jill looked back at Cowpoke, and she started to write something. Then she tore out the page and handed it to Cowpoke. He looked at it questionably, and then took it to read it.

Even then… what if we made the most of it?

"…hm…?" Cowpoke looked up at Jill in wondering, and before he knew it, Jill came forward and hugged him. Cowpoke froze after that, not sure at all what to do; he even dropped the note to the ground when she hugged him. He stared at her in shock… "…you…"

Jill looked at him face-to-face, trying to smile a bit.

"…but…why?" Cowpoke asked.

Jill let go of Cowpoke to write.

even if we can't work out in a committed relationship, what's to say that we can't explore the option of dating, just for a little while?

Cowpoke was amazed, looking back up at Jill in question.

So Jill kept writing. ...It would be bad to close yourself up to everyone… believe me, I know what that's like. It took forever for me to open up to someone, because I always knew that somehow, someway, I would lose them… and in the end, I guess I did.

Cowpoke frowned at that, but he saw Jill write some more so he kept silent.

I think we should make the most of what time left we have. The more we try, the more likely we might be able to open up again… and the better off we'll be when the time comes for separation.

Cowpoke understood what Jill was getting at, but he shook his head. "…but…but I don't wanna just…I mean, I would totally be for the idea… it's just that I'm sure you probably don't… feel the same way as I do…"

Jill wrote some more, smiling. When Cowpoke saw what she wrote, he was more surprised… and turned him red.

Actually… I like you a lot. You're really adorable sometimes, and so far, you're one of the first soldiers here that I've been able to trust with knowing my past. In fact, you remind me so much of Brick that I suppose it's an instinct for really liking you…

"…is that so…?" Cowpoke murmured, and Jill nodded. "…so… yer sayin' that even if we know it won't work…we should try anyway?" and Jill nodded again.

Cowpoke looked at her with a slight gawk, but he stepped closer. "…so…you wouldn't get mad…if I…?" he trailed off, and Jill grew confused… until he propped a finger up underneath her chin, making her blush slightly. "…if I just…ya know…?" Cowpoke was a bit red in the face too, but he looked at her with a sincere look.

The two ended up staring at each other, growing so quiet that they even tried to hide the sound of their breath. Jill, though, eventually smiled just a little bit, and nodded in reassurance that Cowpoke was alright to do it.

Cowpoke slowly leaned in, and Jill remained there, waiting for him and closing her eyes. He swallowed silently and nervously, because it had been a long time since it was the last time he kissed a girl, but he also knew that he couldn't keep her waiting.

Since he was a bit nervous, he pressed his lips against Jill's so suddenly that Jill's eyes popped back open in some slight surprise. After that, Jill closed her eyes again, and Cowpoke wrapped his arms around her. He felt such an overwhelming wave of relief sweep over him… a moment where he could finally express his feelings so freely…

…behind the bushes, someone tip-toed toward them, and when they saw the two of them kissing like that, they stopped.

"…guess they were alright after all, huh Sonia?" Ivory supposed in a whisper to the only other figure with her.

"...seems like it." Sonia whispered back to her. "...I figure we should leave them on their own, eh, Ivory?" she added, smiling a bit.

"…why not?" Ivory said with a shrug, turning around and walking away.

Shooting her a brief look, Sonia then looked back at Jill and Cowpoke. "...best of luck to ya." she whispered to herself, before she walked after Ivory, smiling contently.


so…the woman with the two minds has been through much more than I previously assumed, Meta thought.

"That's putting it mildly." Sage commented.

"...so, did that put things into perspective?" King hummed, tilting his head.

it did, Meta nodded. …but…that still leaves me with questions…

"Like?" Ani asked.

King's powers… Meta murmured. …they are far too familiar to be anything else but what I remember from my counterpart…

King folded his arms. "...like I told you, I can't recall how I got these powers..."

"...perhaps the answer to that is somewhere in your subconscious?" Sage mused, looking at Meta.

I have searched my subconscious thoroughly, in my deep slumber, Meta thought. …I do not have the answer to that… only one who would have files of all of your experiments would know the answer.

"The only one that could possibly have any files on us was the Colonel," Hunter said. "…and he died years ago…"

"...though..." King hummed, rubbing his chin. "...maybe..."

"...maybe what?" Queen blinked, looking at King.

"...of course! The Commander!" King uttered, snapping his fingers. "She must be able to access the Colonel's files, since she's in charge of GUN, and all."

"...true enough." Sage nodded. "I have my doubts that he'd delete those files..."

"...then..." At that point, Miser brightened up a bit. "...maybe we could ask Wiper to check that out with the Commander?"

"That'd be great!" Ani said, growing excited.

so your friend is still with GUN, Meta responded with amuse.

"Yep; he decided to stick around there, which I suppose works out." King shrugged. "It does give us a proper link when we need to relay things to the commander."

"And an excuse to speak to Wiper as often as we please." Queen remarked with a chuckle.

"I wonder how they're doing, anyhow?" Hunter murmured.

I suppose you will find out once you contact him… Meta presumed.

"True enough." King nodded.

"...though... until we clarify that, what will you do?" Proxy hummed, glancing at Meta again.

I will remain away from the eyes of others, Meta replied. I've caused enough trouble on this island already…

"...well, as long as no one spots you, I suppose you could stay around here." Proxy mused. "If it's alright with everyone else, here?"

"Fine by me!" Ani exclaimed.

"I have no objections to that." Queen mused.

"...fine by me." Miser nodded.

"Sure." Sage said in agreement.

"...guess it's pretty much decided, then." King hummed, folding his arms.

Very well… Meta nodded. …I will stay here in this building, in the back rooms.

"Sounds like a plan, kekeke." Ripper hummed.

"Right; then I'll call up Wiper regarding those files." King nodded.

Sage let out a small, bemused sigh. "Things sure have been hectic today, haven't they...?" she mused.

"Yeah, they sure have," Ani remarked. "…is it time to open the door and let the others in now?"

"...I suppose." Sage hummed. "Let's let them in." With that, she glanced at the door, and opened it with her mind.

When the door opened, everyone sitting outside turned their heads in notice. "Looks like they're all done talking," Ivory said.

"Seems that way." Mia hummed. "Can we come in?"

"Yep." Sage nodded. "Any of you guys hungry, or anything?"

Ivory shrugged, "Why not…?"

Brute whisked up Mud-Pie and Joy toddled toward Sonia, raising her arms and jumping. "Uppy Sonia! Uppy!"

"Up? Alrighty, then." Sonia chuckled, as she picked Joy up.

Joy giggled, while the rest of them entered into the pub; somewhat avoiding Meta warily, while he just walked toward the backrooms along with Hunter.

Taking their seats, they looked at the others. "...so, what'd you guys agree on?" Mia hummed.

"Actually, we aren't quite sure yet," Ani said. "We're going to contact a friend of ours in GUN to see if we can resolve the issue."

"I see," Ivory replied.

That was when Ani noticed some people missing. "…um…where's Jill? And Cowpoke for that matter?"

"…they're having a little… "talk"," Ivory murmured.

"Yeah... a 'talk'." Sonia nodded.

Though she made sure that the others didn't notice it, Sage withheld a small chuckle, as she instantly figured out what Jill and Cowpoke were 'talking' about.

"...well, they'll come around later, I suppose." King hummed with a shrug.

"Anyway, what'll you all have, huh?" Ani went to tie the apron around her waist again.


Later that night...

"...so, how have you been, Wiper?" King hummed, as he was currently on the phone; calling up Wiper.

"I've been better and worse." Wiper responded. "Me and Charmy decided to be a bit lenient, and we gave Newt, Natal, Boomer and Calculate a vacation. As a result... I'm kind of swamped."

"Nothing out of the ordinary, then." King mused with a chuckle. "...so, I was just wondering about-"

"You want me to relay a message to the Commander, huh?" Wiper chuckled. "Same as always... what do you need?"

King let out a quick sigh, before he rubbed his neck. "...I need the Colonel's files. Of us."

Silence from the other end. "...why would you ever want those?" Wiper inquired.

"...something came up, and I need to read up on our personal files... we've been so busy over here in Safe Haven, so the thought never hit me." King responded

"...you know, this is delicate information, King." Wiper hummed. "We discovered recently that someone's managed to crack the database of the Colonel's files; though the Commander moved them to a more secure server."

Hunter walked into the room then, though he noticed that King was currently on the phone, so he kept silent.

"...well... I'll relay a message to the Commander. Getting the files might be tricky, but I'll see what I can do." Wiper mused. "If nothing else, at least I tried."

"...yeah; guess that's what matters." King mused with a chuckle. "...where'd you say that the others were vacationing, anyway?"

"...well, Natal decided to bring Cal over to meet her family, while Newt and Boomer went to participate in an Extreme Gear tournament." Wiper replied. "They'll all probably be back by the end of the week, though."

"I see." King nodded. "Then you got it taken care of?"

"As best as I can." Wiper replied. "Tell the others that I said hi, would you?"

"Sure thing, Wiper." King chuckled. "You do the same with Team Chaotix, you hear?"

"...sure." Wiper chuckled in return. "I'll call you up later." With that, he hung up.

"So they're all vacationing right now?" Hunter asked King once he hung up the phone too.

"Well, Newt, Natal, Cal and Boomer are; Wiper's stuck with work." King hummed. "He's taking care of things..."

"Is that right?" Hunter folded his arms. "I can understand making sure things get done, but he needs a hobby…what did he say about the files?"

"He's gonna ask the Commander if we can get access to 'em." King replied. "Though he didn't promise anything, so we'll just have to wait and see..." Then, he folded his arms. "...then... he said something about someone having hacked their way into the Colonel's files..."

Hunter's eyes widened. "What? Someone actually hacked into that?"

"...seems like it." King hummed. "He didn't seem to know who had done it; though I bet that any future attempts at hacking it should prove futile."

"…but knowing that there was somebody out there that tried to hack it…" Hunter shook his head. "…now that's going to bug me for a while…"

"...me too," King hummed, narrowing his eyes. "...though, we shouldn't let it get to us for long."

"…right…" Hunter murmured. "…Hey King? Are Wiper and Charmy still… you know… looking for her?"

King was silent for a bit, as he looked down at the floor. "...yeah." he sighed.

Hunter fell silent for a bit too.

"…do you think we should…you know…tell them? It's been almost an entire year since Jill was seen last…"

King rubbed his neck a little. "...I dunno..." he hummed. "...I mean... Jill was hit pretty hard by all this... I think we should keep this as a secret, for her sake."

"…right…" Hunter nodded.

"...well..." Humming, King got on his feet. "...it's night-time." he mused, before he looked at Hunter. "I'm thinking of hitting the pub before I hit the hay. You feel like tagging along?"

"Sure thing," Hunter said. "…let's not get drunk though; I'm still embarrassed about what happened during Christmas time…"

King chuckled, as he playfully hit Hunter's shoulder. "Whatever ya say, Hunter." he laughed.


Will they get drunk? Tune in next week to find out! XD